


Indirect Sunlight

by QuantumFeat72



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Asriel Dreemurr, Adult Chara (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Angst, Child Abuse, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nonbinary Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Parenthood, Physical Abuse, Torture, Verbal Abuse, You could read CSA into this but it wasn't meant to be implied really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 51,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21793891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuantumFeat72/pseuds/QuantumFeat72
Summary: It's been more than twenty years since you fell.  You're not sure how long, exactly... long enough for six human children to fall and die in the underground.You've given up on saving them, almost, mostly, but you won't just stand by and do nothing.You won’t let another child die here.  Not if you can save them.50,000 words about Chara being tortured and adopting a kid.
Relationships: Chara & Asgore Dreemurr & Asriel Dreemurr & Toriel, Chara & Asriel Dreemurr, Chara & Frisk (Undertale), Chara & Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 64
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SO this has been my main project for about two years, and it's... probably the darkest, most self-indulgent fucking thing I've ever written so um, mind the warnings. I've read darker stuff from this fandom but if you're here because you read my coffee shop au, just know this is... not that.
> 
> A note on warnings:  
> All of the relevant warnings (I believe) are in the tags, but I'll put specific warnings for each chapter in the **end notes** of every chapter. You should see a link to them up here.
> 
> And... yeah, so this is sort of a cross between my take on Underfell and me looking at Caretaker and deciding I could do it better. Perspective changes so keep an eye on the name in [brackets] so you know who you are. I wrote this to amuse myself but if you have concrit I'd still like to hear it ^^; (just keep in mind the entire thing is written already).
> 
> Anyway my current plan is to post about one chapter a week for the next 3 months; we'll see how that pans out. It's all written but I wanna give myself time to make light edits and reread it as I post.

[Chara]

It’s probably morning.It’s morning _somewhere,_ anyway, and you just woke up a few hours ago so you may as well call it morning.You can’t really see sunlight through the cavern’s ceiling anymore, but you aren’t sure if it’s the time of day or the growth around the opening.

(You think you remember it having a lot of plants around it, or wait - was it in a cave?You’re not sure.)

You hear something above you - probably just a squirrel or something.It’s not another human - at least, you hope it’s not another human.The _last_ thing you need right now is another human.

Suddenly, something crashes through the ceiling and lands face first on the old mattress you left under the opening.It’s another human.

* * *

The human stirs after a moment and you gather your breath before approaching them.You’re starting to get tired of giving this spiel, but you try not to think about it.

“Greetings.”

The human looks up at you sharply and pushes themself backward.They say nothing.

“I am Chara,” you continue.“Caretaker of the Ruins.Come,” you take a step forward and hold out your hand, “I’ll guide you.”

The human regards you suspiciously for a long moment before standing up and sprinting past you into the Ruins.You take a moment to be surprised before following them.

They’re fast, but your legs are longer and you know the way.The human barely makes it to the first puzzle before you catch up.They turn to face you, slowly backing up towards the wall.You take a second to catch your breath before speaking.“Kid, relax, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The human narrows their eyes at you and glances back at the puzzle.They haven’t had time to read the sign yet, and they won't take their eyes off of you long enough to solve it.(You used to leave these open, but that always ended up doing more harm than good.)

The human dithers for a long moment before speaking.“I believe you,” they say, “but I don’t want to go with you.”

You have a feeling they’re lying about believing you, but you can work with that.“The path up ahead is dangerous,” you tell them.“I know the way.I can help you.”

“I don’t want your help.”

“You could die.”

“I don’t want your help.”The human repeats the phrase like a mantra, more to themself than to you.

You aren’t sure how to respond to that, and before you can think of what to say the human darts to the puzzle and solves it in two quick motions before running back to the door and sprinting away.You briefly consider letting them go, but the kid’s going to die on their own and the king only needs one more soul.You can’t afford to let them get hurt.You take another breath and follow them down the hallway.

This time, you don’t catch up with them until the end of the longest hallway.The human ducks into a hole in the wall and crawls far enough into it that you can’t reach them.It’s too small for you to go in after them.You crouch to look into the opening and see the human curled up inside of it, staring at you with wide eyes.You sigh and sit down next to the opening.

“Is this a ‘stranger danger’ thing?” you ask, “Because I think you’re a little past that after climbing _Mount fucking Ebott_.”

The human says nothing, and it occurs to you that you really aren’t helping your case here.

“Look,” you say instead, trying to take on a softer tone.“I know what you’re going through, okay?I’ve _been_ there.So I get it if you don’t believe me, and I don’t expect you to trust me.But this place is dangerous.There are people here who’ll kill you just for being human.You shouldn’t be walking into that unprepared.”

“I _am_ prepared,” they assert quietly.

You sigh again.Nothing you say is going to convince this kid.You take a minute to think.

If the human dies in the Ruins, there’s a decent chance their soul will never make it to the king.(There was that one human who died here but that was so long ago and you’ve taken precautions since then.)You hate to leave them to their own devices, but you can be confident that it’s mostly a danger to _them_ and not _everyone_...

“Alright,” you say finally.“Tell you what, I’ll just leave you some money.There’s a place up ahead you can buy food - donuts mostly - they look gross but I promise they’re edible.”You dig about 50g out of your pocket and place it in a small pile at the opening.You stand up.“My house is about two miles from here.It’s the one with the ugly tree out front, you can’t miss it.If you ever need help, you’ll always be welcome there.”

“Why?”

“Huh?Why what?”

“Why... _this_?Why are you doing this?”

“Why not?”

The human makes a frustrated sound and you hear movement in the hole.“What do you want from me?”They try to make it sound angry, but an edge of fear works its way into their voice and twists something in your chest.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

“You’re lying.”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

“People don’t do things just to be nice.Nobody does.What do you want?”

You take a second to think about it.“I guess... I guess I’m just lonely.It’s been a long time since another human has fallen down here.I’d like to have someone to talk to for once.”You pause to see if they have anything to say before continuing.“But this isn’t contingent on getting what I want.I mean, there’d be no point in talking to someone who wants nothing to do with me.It’s worth a shot, is all.”

The human is silent for a few seconds before saying, “That’s _it_?”

“That’s it.Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know,” they admit.

“Do you want me to leave you alone until you decide?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.Remember, last house on the left, big ugly tree.If you change your mind, or you need anything, find me there.”

* * *

_“Twinkle, twinkle, little star...”_

_You curl up in a ball in the corner of the room and try to steady your voice.It comes out strained and broken, but you keep going anyway._

_“How I wonder what you - hic - are.”_

_You sniffle and rub your face with your sleeve._

_“Up above the world so high...Like a diamond in the sky...”_

_Your breathing catches again and you hug yourself a little tighter._

_“Twinkle twinkle little star...”_

_“...How I wonder...”_

_“What you...”_

_“Are.”_

* * *

You put the pie in the oven and set the timer and try not to think about how you haven’t heard from the human in weeks and they’re probably dead by now.You try very hard not to think about all the things you could have done differently and everything you should have said.You end up thinking very, very hard about snails and slugs and spiders and whether the kid actually spent the money you gave them and where have they been _sleeping_ and suddenly you hear a knock on your door.

You open the door and don’t see anything until you look down, where the human has collapsed on your doorstep.

You notice the details first - the way their hair is matted to the side of their face, the places their clothes are ripped - before realizing that they’re covered in blood and also unconscious and you have to do something before they bleed to death.

They stir slightly when you pick them up.Maybe they aren’t entirely unconscious?You bring them to the guest bedroom and find the first aid kit before getting to work trying to help them.You know a little healing magic, but it wouldn’t be safe to use it on someone who’s not awake to tell you if it hurts.You focus on cleaning the wounds and stopping the bleeding.You think their arm is broken, but you don’t know the first thing about setting bones so you mostly ignore it.One of their legs is pretty fucked up but the bone is intact and you think you can heal it when they wake up.

...If they wake up.

By the time you’re done, the pie is almost ready and you’ve used most of the bandages in your first aid kit.You look them over one last time - you don’t think you missed anything - and notice that they look thinner than they were when you first met.

You hope you’re just misremembering.You tuck them in and leave to take the pie out of the oven.

* * *

[Frisk]

When you wake up, the first thing you become aware of is the pain.Your arm, your leg, that giant gash in your stomach... you don’t think any of the injuries are new, so you try to think of the last thing you remember.

You’d been fighting that... was it a carrot?You got away and...

It’s warm here.

What had you done after that?Oh, you went through that weird arch thing and... and you found Chara’s house.

You brace yourself silently and open your eyes.You’re in a... a bed?A little bed with the covers tucked all they way up to your neck.Now that you know it’s there, you start to feel the weight of the blanket on your arms and legs.You turn your head to the side to look at the rest of the room.

There’s some innocuous furniture scattered about, some generic decorations on the walls... it looks like a perfectly normal guest bedroom.There’s a nightstand next to the bed, and a slice of pie has been placed on it next to a glass of water.

With a little effort, you sit up and pick up the glass, sniffing it cautiously before taking a tentative sip.It tastes fine, so you chug the whole glass and turn your attention to the pie.

It’s made with some kind of meat, you think, but it smells okay.Your stomach rudely reminds you that you haven’t eaten since yesterday... or the day before yesterday, if it’s tomorrow.You’re more suspicious of the pie than the water - it’s a lot easier to mask the taste of poison in food, probably - but you reason that if Chara wanted you dead they could have just stabbed you in your sleep.

You eat the pie in little bites, waiting to feel anything like the effects of poison, but finish the slice without a problem.

You stand up, with some difficulty, and make your way over to the door carrying the plate and cup.You pause for a moment upon reaching it - are you allowed to leave?Chara might want to know where you are, and maybe your wounds are bad enough you shouldn’t wrench them, and back home...

You push the thought from your head and open the door.

You find Chara in the kitchen washing dishes and humming softly to themself.(You remind yourself that Chara isn’t a boy or a girl - the monsters you met were very adamant about that.)You dither for a long moment, unsure if you should let them know you’re there or just go back to the guest room and pretend you never got up, but Chara turns around before you can decide.

“Oh, you’re awake!”Their tone is surprised, not hostile, and you can see a hint of a smile on their face.They take the plate and cup from your hands.“Are you still hungry?” they ask, and you shake your head no even though you are.

“Thank you,” you say instead.

“Think nothing of it,” replies Chara, placing the plate on the counter before turning back to you and kneeling to your height.You take a tentative step backwards when they reach out their hand.“May I see your arm?”

You hesitate longer than you know you should, but the tall human hasn’t hurt you (yet) so you hold out your broken arm.They take it gingerly in one hand and hold the other over it, and it looks like they’re using some kind of magic.

Chara gives a little “hm,” and releases your arm before standing up.“Follow me a moment,” they say, and they lead you to the dining room and pull a book from the bookshelf.They sit down at the table and motion for you to join them.You have a seat next to them and watch as they open the book and start reading silently.

After a few minutes, they return their attention to you.“Your arm is broken,” they say, like you didn’t already know.“I have some magic that may be able to fix it, but I’ve never done this before so there’s a chance I’ll just make it worse.Would you rather let it heal on it’s own?I won’t do this if you don’t want me to.”

You have to think about it.On one hand, you aren’t usually one to shy away from risks, and the sooner you’re on your feet again the better.On the other hand... you’re still not sure how much you trust Chara.After a moment, you decide you got this far by trusting them and offer them your arm in a show of implicit consent.

Chara sets your arm gently on the table and flips to another page of the book.They begin muttering to themself as they read.After a moment, with a little “here goes,” they hold a hand over your arm, which begins emitting a strange blue light.Your arm starts to tingle, and then it starts to move.

You look away, a little sick to your stomach at seeing your bone shift under the skin.It stops after only a few seconds and when you look back up, Chara’s reading from the book again.

“Alright,” they say, “this isn’t supposed to hurt, so if it does I need you to tell me, okay?”You nod, and Chara returns their hands to your arm.It starts glowing again, green this time, and the sensation hits you so suddenly you almost pull away out of instinct.It doesn’t _hurt,_ exactly, but you’re overwhelmed by the sheer _amount_ of sensation.It feels like everything all at once.You duck your head and grimace, but it doesn’t hurt so you say nothing.

It abates after a few moments, and when you look back up Chara’s staring at your arm, brows furrowed.“How does that feel?” they ask, and you retrieve your arm to examine it.You open and close your fist a few times, turn it both ways, and it’s still weak but it’s not nearly as sensitive.

“Better,” you tell Chara, and their face lights up.

* * *

Chara says healing magic can be dangerous if it’s used to heal too many wounds all at once, so you end up staying at their house for a few days.After the second night, it occurs to you to ask them about the exit.You’d asked a few monsters, but all they said was that it was at the ‘end of the Ruins’ and the Ruins are a big place.Over breakfast that morning (leftover pie, which you now know is made from snails) you decide to bring it up.

“Chara?”

“Mm?”

“Where’s the Ruins’ exit?”

Chara goes stiff, returning their fork to their plate.After a moment of deliberation, they say, “There is no exit.”

“...You’re lying.”

Chara doesn’t meet your eyes.“What makes you say that?”

“The monsters said there was an exit at the end of the Ruins.”

“Why do you care?” they redirect suddenly, their tone starting to become hostile.

You aren’t sure how much farther you can push them, and you decide not to risk it.“I... never mind.”You go back to your food.“Forget I said anything.”

Something in Chara’s expression softens, but they don’t say anything else.

* * *

That night, you sneak into the one part of the house Chara told you was off limits: the basement.You know they’re hiding something.You aren’t sure where Chara is, but they don’t hear you descend this time, so they can’t stop you from reaching the bottom.You tiptoe down a long hallway and stop suddenly when you hear voices around the corner.

You can’t make out what they’re saying, so you creep closer, hugging the wall, until you’re right behind the corner.One of the voices is Chara, but you don’t recognize the other one.It sounds like they’re... exchanging knock-knock jokes?

You listen for a few minutes, confused, but before you turn to leave the voice that isn’t Chara says something that isn’t a joke.

“hey... i know you mostly just laugh at these to make me feel better, but you’re not even really trying today, are you?”

“What- that isn’t true!I like your puns.”

“not the point.you’re still acting weird.what’s eatin’ you?”

Chara starts to say something else, but stops themself and sighs.“...If a human ever comes through this door... would you please, _please_ promise me something?Look after them, and protect them, will you not?”

Both voices are silent for a long time.When the other voice speaks, he (you assume it’s a he) sounds like he’s choosing his words as carefully as he can.“you... you know how much i’ve enjoyed this... this thing we have goin’ here, but.you realize what you’re asking, don’t you?i’m a _sentry._ that ain’t just neglect - it’s _treason._ ”

“Do you truly believe in their cause, or are you just afraid of the consequences?”

“...heh.kind of a pointless question.”

“Do you know what will happen if the king’s plan succeeds?”

“i don’t think anybody knows what’ll happen.”

“You... I know you’re not an idiot.You can’t honestly believe this is going to work.Even with the human souls, monsterkind cannot afford another war.”

“it’s what the king wants.”

“The king is a coward and a fool.”

“ _you cant say that out loud oh my god-_ ”

“Tell me I’m wrong.”Chara says it like an accusation.There’s another brief moment of silence.

“so... so what if you’re right?what do you expect me to do about it?even if i _did_ try an’ protect the next human to fall... do you really think i stand a chance against the entire god damn royal guard?”

Chara says nothing.

“...this ain’t just a hypothetical, is it.you’ve got a human in there.”

“Y... yes.”

“if you know where this human is, why not just keep them in the ruins?”

“I’m going to try.The human... they’re a good kid.I’ve met most of the fallen humans, but this one’s... different, somehow.”They sigh.“But they’ve made no secret of their intentions.Once their wounds are healed, I am not sure I will be able to stop them.”

“they want to go home that badly?”

“Wouldn’t you, in their place?”

“hey, i’m not judging or nothin’.i just think... well, you said they’re a kid.if it comes to that, can’t you stop them by force?”

“I... I would be lying if I said I hadn’t considered it.”

You feel something in your chest skip a beat.

“are you scared they’ll kill you?”

“No... I’m scared that they won’t.This human, they’re still level one.They haven’t gained a single point of EXP since entering the underground.”

“what- seriously?they haven’t killed _anyone_?”

“Not a single person.I’m not sure how they made it this far like that.”

“jeez.”

“That’s why I’m so worried about them.I don’t think they’re strong enough to survive out there.”

“sounds like they’ve already got a different kind of strength.”

“I don’t think that’s enough.Not without somebody on their side.”

“if you care so much, why not just come with ‘em?”

“Ha - do I sound like I think _I’m_ strong enough to protect them?”

“but you think i am?you’ve never even met me.”

“I know what it takes to become a sentry.”

“even if i could... i won’t.i’m not turning against my brother.”

“You’d condone _genocide_ for him?”

“YES.”

There’s silence for a moment before Chara speaks again.“You still there?Hello?”

No response.Chara sighs quietly.

“Damn it.”

* * *

[Chara]

You wait, even though you know he isn’t coming back.You wonder briefly if he’s going to report you - it _is_ his job - but you dismiss that thought.He knows you’re right, and even if he won’t actively fight against his brother and the guard, you know he won’t go out of his way to make sure they succeed, either.

Eventually, you stand up to leave.You caution a glance back at the door and when you turn around the human is standing right in front of you.

You blink, taking a reflexive step backward, wondering what the hell they’re doing down here.The human looks up at you with an expression you could only describe as... defiance?Oh god, they heard some of that, didn’t they.

You swallow thickly, realizing they’re waiting for you to speak.“How much of that did you hear?” you ask, even though you’re pretty sure you don’t want to know.

“All of it,” replies the human, and you grit your teeth silently.

“Do you still want to leave?” you ask.

“Yes,” they reply.They don’t meet your eyes.“Are...” they hesitate, an edge of fear working its way into their voice.“Are you going to stop me?”

You take a deep breath to steady yourself.“Kid... There is only one exit to the surface.To reach it, you would have to go through the entirety of the royal guard - the strongest monsters in the _world_.If you leave the ruins, you will die.”You don’t want to keep going, but you do anyway.“You’ll die, and then the king will use your soul to wage war upon humanity.”

The human looks up at you, expression shifting into concern.You look away.

“Understand?You are not only endangering yourself, but _everyone_.I...”You swallow thickly, trying futilely to regain your composure. “I don’t want you to die at all, but if you die in the Ruins they cannot take your soul.If I have to stop you by force, I will.”

The human hesitates, but steps forward.You look back at them, trying to read their expression.

All you can see in it is pity.

...That’s okay.You can work with that.

“Please,” you say, not bothering to hide your fear anymore, “please go back upstairs.”

The human looks you in the eye, shakes their head, and takes another step forward.

You look back down, and wipe your tears on your sleeve.After letting out a shaky breath, you mutter, “So that is how it is.”

With a wave of your hand, a wall of fire materializes behind you.

“Goodbye, human.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Implied Child Abuse  
> \- Recent-past Violence


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! I think this one is a good litmus test for whether the violence in this fic is for you - proceed with caution but if you aren't negatively affected by this chapter you'll probably be fine for the rest of the fic.
> 
> I sincerely hope there aren't any teens or children reading this, but if there are (since I know this is the kind of thing I would've read when I was 15), remember there's no shame in dropping stories because they make you sad, anxious, or uncomfortable. Media is capable of causing harm if you let it! Read responsibly! Specific warnings are in the end notes.
> 
> Anyway have this.

[Chara]

_You stand behind King Asgore’s throne, hands clasped loosely behind your back, head bowed, not bothering to listen to his conversation.The monster he’s speaking to doesn’t acknowledge you, and neither does he, so you allow your mind to drift.The metal collar around your neck is starting to bite into your shoulders, and you hope Asgore will take you back to the house soon._

_On the other hand, you sometimes prefer being out.They mostly ignore you out here, although they do get extra angry when you misbehave.It’s a nice change of pace, at least.You also can’t help but be fond of the garden: the feeling of soil and grass on your bare feet, the flowers everywhere.It would be so nice if it had some of those yellow flowers from the surface..._

_(Although in the end, you have to prefer being inside, because inside the monsters call you “they,” and outside they call you “it.”)_

_Someone new enters the room.You don’t lift your head to see who it is, but you hear their footsteps approaching the throne.When they speak, you recognize the voice - it’s Asriel._

_“Dad, can I play with the human?”_

_You wince minutely, hoping beyond hope he doesn’t see it.(He probably did, though.Asriel sees everything.)“Have you finished your homework?” asks Asgore._

_“Of course I have,” replies Asriel, in the tone he always uses when he lies._

_“Alright, then,” says Asgore, and you feel the chain of your leash being pulled as he hands the end of it to his son._

_“Thanks, dad!” says Asriel cheerfully, and starts running so suddenly you almost fall over trying to keep up.You don’t dare move your hands from behind your back, and you stumble a few times, but you manage to keep up with him until the end of the throne room._

_He slows down after you get through the door and you hazard a glance at him.The two of you are alone now, and he’s looking ahead, so he doesn’t notice your eyes wandering between his head and the hand holding the chain._

_Before you can think about what you’re doing, you’ve grabbed the center of the chain and you’re pulling as hard as you can.Asriel turns, startled, and loses his grip.You fall to the ground and scramble to your feet and sprint back to the throne room._

_You gather the chain in your hands as you run past the throne before Asgore has time to react.You hear shouting behind you and will yourself to run faster.The cave opens, infuriatingly slowly, and before you is the barrier._

_You waste no time running headfirst into it.The barrier pushes back and you find yourself on the ground again.The shouting behind you gets louder.You stand up and push against the barrier.You hit it with your tiny fists.You scream at it, your voice sounding alien to you, distant.The monsters come into view._

_You turn to face them and press your back against the barrier.Asgore’s face is the picture of rage.You start to say something - to apologize - but before you can he’s grabbed the chain from your hands and is pulling you further into the cave._

_Your neck hurts, but it doesn’t stop you from finally speaking - apologizing over and over, begging forgiveness, bawling loudly - until he snaps at you to shut up and you resort to crying silently until you reach the house._

_Asgore drags you to the basement and binds your wrists with the shackles attached to the wall.He leaves momentarily and comes back with a whip._

_By the time he stops, your voice is hoarse from begging and you can no longer see from the pain.He doesn’t bother untying you before leaving, the heavy stone door closing loudly behind him.The shackles are low enough to allow you to sit, so you let yourself go limp and pull your knees in front of you and sob quietly._

* * *

The human stares defiantly up at you as you throw wave after wave of attacks at them, dodging easily and always, _always_ refusing to fight back.You don’t back down - you _can’t_ \- but the more you put into your magic the more determined they seem to get.

“What are you even trying to go back to?” you ask, eventually.“Why did you climb Mt. Ebott in the first place, if you were just going to go _back_?”

The human finishes navigating your attack and looks up at you.They don’t answer, instead sparing you again.

“Do you honestly think you can make it past all of monsterkind?Past the KING?”

The human nods.

“You can’t.”You conjure another attack, and they focus on dodging.

They spare you again.

“Not if you aren’t willing to fight.”

The human shakes their head.

“Not if you aren’t willing to kill.”

The human pauses and looks up at you, their expression of pity returning to their face.They shake their head again and spare you again.

“Kid...”

You start to waver in the control of your magic.Your hands shake.

You stop attacking, just for a couple of turns, to rest your hands at your side and ball your fists.

“What do you know about the barrier?” you ask.

The human tilts their head, brows furrowed.

“It’s the spell that keeps the monsters trapped down here," you continue."The way the legend goes... anything can enter through it, but only something with a powerful soul can leave.”You look back at the human with an insincere grin.“Like you.”

The human doesn’t respond.

You allow your expression to fall.“But the truth is, a human soul isn’t strong enough to cross the barrier alone.It takes at least one human soul... and one monster soul.”You can’t look them in the eye.“If you want to leave... you’ll have to take the life of another person.You’ll have to kill Asriel.”

* * *

[Frisk]

Chara doesn’t attack again, and you guess they’re waiting for you to respond.They stare at the ground in front of them, fists clenched.You remember what they just told you.You can’t seem to process it. _You’ll have to kill Asriel._

You don’t want anyone to get hurt because of you.You were willing to take that risk because you knew you could get through, but if you can’t...

“You can’t know that,” is all you can think to say.

“I’ve been to the barrier,” Chara replies flatly.“I... sure, maybe it’s just that I’m not... strong enough.But I don’t think that’s how it works.”They bring a hand to their face for a moment - are they crying?“To be honest... I’m not sure you could leave even if you did kill him.It’s hypothetically possible, but no human has ever absorbed the soul of a monster.”

“Asriel...?”You’ve heard that name before, you’re sure of it.

“The king.The only boss monster known to still exist.The only monster whose soul can persist after death.”

The king...

You take a step backward.“I...”

“I’m sorry.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

Chara looks back up at you for a moment before lowering their eyes again.“I suppose you don’t.”

You don’t want to believe them.You want to run past them while they’re distracted and keep going until you reach the exit and _find a way._

But something in Chara’s expression, something in their voice when they said _‘I’ve BEEN to the barrier,’_ tells you they’re telling the truth.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me,” you mutter under your breath.

Chara sighs, apparently having heard you.“Kid...”

“Frisk,” you interrupt.“My name is Frisk.”

“...Frisk,” Chara starts, but you don’t wait for them to finish before turning around and going back upstairs.

* * *

You aren’t sure where to go, so you eventually find yourself in the room where you first fell.You stare at the crack in the ceiling.Maybe you could find a way to climb up?Or maybe not.You find a place to sit and rest your head on your knees.You don’t know why you care so much about going home, anyway.Your family probably hasn’t even noticed you’re gone.

But the thought of spending the rest of your life _here_ stirs something in your stomach and makes you sick.You know Chara was telling the truth back there, but you still don’t trust them.The monsters in the ruins are afraid of them, although nobody will tell you why.

They were willing to take you in, but they said it themself - they just don’t want you to end up in the rest of the underground.They won’t care if you die in the ruins.

They were going to kill you themself.

You’re starting to regret sneaking into the basement.You don’t know what happens now.What will Chara do if you go back?You doubt their offer to stay with them still stands, but you have nowhere else to go.

You hug your knees to your chest and sigh.It’s okay, you’ve had worse.You’ll figure something out.

* * *

You spend the last of the money Chara gave you on a donut and put it in your inventory for later.You still haven’t seen most of the ruins, you think, and there was one hole, so there has to be another one somewhere.

Just because nothing can leave through the barrier doesn’t mean nothing can leave, right?

You avoid Chara’s house, opting instead to head to the right and deeper into the ruins.

It’s smaller than you expected.You guess the monsters weren’t kidding when they said the exit was at the end, because there’s nowhere else to go to the right of it.

There’s just a balcony overlooking the area you’ve already been through.You sigh and drape your arms across the railing, staring out at the ceiling.

There has to be another way... right?

* * *

[Chara]

_"Give me your hands,” demands Asgore, and you obey.He binds them behind you with a pair of child-sized handcuffs and leads you by the chain of your leash out of the house.Your shoulders still ache from last night - he hadn’t come to let you out until morning - but he’s less angry than you expected.You really didn’t think you’d be allowed to come with him again._

_(Not that you’d be allowed to stay at the house if you wanted, but that’s neither here nor there.)_

_You behave as well as you can while he deals with various matters throughout the kingdom.You have trouble keeping up with him sometimes but he’s actually pretty patient with you.You don’t even have to do anything besides follow him around until a few hours after lunch.(His lunch - you won’t eat until tonight at the earliest.)_

_“Oh, I didn’t realize the human would be here today,” says the monster Asgore is talking to.You bow your head a little lower upon the realization you’re being watched._

_“Is that a problem?” asks Asgore, and you feel him pull the chain slightly._

_“No, no.It’s just... odd.Why haven’t you killed it yet?”_

_You daren’t move, but you try to get a glimpse of Asgore’s expression.His hand blocks your view.“It is not a threat to us,” he replies simply, tone even._

_“But you could use its soul!” exclaims the monster._

_Asgore laughs.“After where it’s been?” he asks, mockingly.You can’t help but shudder._

_“It’s still a soul,” insists the monster._

_Asgore sighs.“I know.”He tugs your leash in a way you know means he wants you to come closer, and you obey in small steps until he stops.“I am going to,” he says, and you have to force yourself not to make another attempt at escape right then.“But first we are going to learn everything we can from it.”_

_“What could we possibly have to learn from a human?” spits the monster._

_The next thing you’re aware of is Asgore’s hands on yours, undoing the cuffs.You almost look up in surprise, but stop yourself in time.“Human,” he says, “Show Chidna what you learned last month.”_

_His tone isn’t hostile, but something about this screams ‘trap.’“Um,” you say, “really?”_

_“Did I give you permission to speak?”_

_You flinch away and shake your head quickly before stepping forward and cupping your hands in front of you.It’s a pretty simple spell - a basic fireball - but you hear the other monster gasp audibly._

_“It can use magic,” they mutter, and you disperse the fireball when Asgore taps your shoulder.You return your hands to their former position behind your back and he places the cuffs back around your wrists._

_“Yes,” he says.You retreat to your former place at his side and try to pretend you don’t care about this conversation._

_“Then you HAVE to kill it!” exclaims the monster, and you look up at them by mistake.They’re some kind of lizard or snake monster, bipedal with two arms.They have a surprising expression of defiance on their face for someone standing in front of the king._

_You guess the king isn’t amused by their defiance, because his tone is harsh when he speaks again.“Chidna, look at it.Does this human really look dangerous to you?”_

_“Yes,” replies Chidna._

_Asgore thinks for a moment.“Very well, then,” he says, “You kill it.”_

_“What?!”_

_“Kill it,” repeats Asgore, and you abandon all of your manners to back as far away from the other monster as you can.Asgore holds your leash firmly, and when it goes taught between your neck and his hand he yanks it forward, forcing you back in front of the throne._

_“W-wait, no,” you plead, turning your head to look at him.“I’ll be good, I’m sorry, please.”_

_The other monster approaches, weapon drawn.You feel Asgore’s hands on your wrists again._

_To your surprise, he undoes the cuffs and removes your collar._

_“Human,” he says, “you have permission to defend yourself.”_

_“W-what?” you ask, but the other monster attacks before he responds.You dodge to the side, not used to being able to move so much and wobbling on your feet._

_“You may use magic,” says Asgore, “and any other tools available to you.Go for the kill.”_

_The other monster looks at him with a worried expression upon the last order, but hesitates less than a second before they move toward you again._

_You throw a fireball at them and they brush it off like it’s nothing.You turn and run and they grab you by the shoulder and throw you to the ground.You roll out of the way of another attack and push yourself to your feet, conjuring another fireball._

_The monster hits you in the stomach before you have a chance to use it.You fall to the ground on your back, coughing, but manage to stand up before the monster can get to you again.You fling yourself desperately at them, using your nails and teeth as weapons, and the monster embeds their claws in your back._

_You cry out from the pain and fall to your knees.The monster raises their weapon and you jump backward, but they land a blow on your leg.It makes an awful crunching sound and for a moment there is nothing but the pain._

_You try to get away by scooting backward on your butt, and the monster places a foot on your shoulder and forces you to the ground._

_You can barely breathe, but you still manage to gather the air to plead, “W-wait, p... please d-don’t-”_

_“Chidna,” says Asgore, “stop.”_

_“What?” says the monster, weapon already at your throat._

_“That’s enough,” says Asgore.“Step away.”_

_The monster hesitates, but obeys.You roll to your side as soon as the pressure is off of your shoulder and cough quietly._

_Asgore walks over to you and kneels to put the collar back around your neck.You look up to see his expression, but you can’t read it.“Can you stand?” he asks, and you aren’t sure how to interpret that so you take it as an order and force yourself to your feet.Your damaged leg can take a little weight, and you find a balance between it and the good one.You try to resume your position - hands behind your back, head bowed, back straight - but only manage to rest your arms at your sides, hands shaking, head limp._

_Asgore speaks again, addressing the monster.“Now does this human look dangerous to you?”_

_“I...” the monster sounds angry at first, but stops themself.“No.”_

_“Good,” replies Asgore.“Then we’re done here.”_

* * *

You place the book back on the nightstand and return your attention to your leg.Your healing magic had never been enough to do anything about the pain, but you suppose you have nothing to lose by attempting the trick you used on Frisk.

Well, except for the part where step one is breaking it again.You take a deep breath and decide this is the only way to get your mind off of them.

The bone snaps readily under the pressure of your blue magic.You shudder, grimacing, but manage to set the bone without passing out.You use what little healing magic you can on it, but it isn’t very effective to use on yourself, so you only manage to dull the pain some.You wrap the leg in a bandage and a makeshift cast you cobbled together from wood and tape.Not the sturdiest thing in the world, but it should do.

A knock at the door distracts you from your thoughts and you scowl silently, wondering who could possibly have such horrible timing.You force yourself to your feet anyway, grabbing a stick you’d placed by the bed so you don’t have to put much weight on your damaged leg.You still end up leaning on it more than you’d expected, but you manage to make your way to the bedroom door.

The knock sounds again as you limp through the living room and you call out, “Coming.”

You don’t know if the person heard you, but they knock again regardless.You finally get to the door and open it.It’s one of the whimsuns, carrying...

“I think this is yours,” says the whimsun, holding Frisk’s limp body out to you.

“I...”you take a step backward and motion for Whimsun to follow you.“Bring them in here.”

Whimsun follows you to the guest bedroom and places Frisk on the bed.You place a hand to their neck to check their pulse - they still have one, at least.You turn back to the monster.“What happened?”

Whimsun shrugs.“They were like that when I found them.”

You sigh, returning your gaze to Frisk and taking stock of their injuries.“Thank you for bringing them to me,” you say.“I owe you.”

“Consider it payment for, uh,” Whimsun gestures vaguely at their arm, and it occurs to you that you know this whimsun.

“Ah, alright.”You get to work bandaging Frisk’s wounds and Whimsun stays behind you, watching.

“What are you going to do with them?” they ask.

“Whatever it takes to keep them alive.”

“Why?”

You sigh.“You know where I stand on Asriel’s ludicrous plan.I’m going to prevent it from succeeding.”

“You could just as easily do that by killing them yourself.”

“More easily, at that,” you mutter.“But I’d prefer not to.”

Whimsun doesn't speak, but flutters nervously behind you.

“I want it known that the next person to lay a finger on this child will have me to answer to.”

Whimsun is quiet for a second.“I’ll spread the word.”

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Graphic Violence / Torture  
> \- Child Abuse (physical and verbal)  
> \- Mentions of death  
> \- I think it deserves a separate warning that a character is kept on a leash?
> 
> As a side note - if any of y'all have specific squicks or triggers people don't usually tag for, feel free to contact me somehow & I can let you know if they show up at all in this story (or any of my stories). Speaking as someone who's literally triggered by the sound of people eating, I get it.


	3. Chapter 3

[Frisk]

_You’re in Chara’s house again.A slice of pie rests on the nightstand next to a glass of water.You sit up and reach out to it, but your hands are pulled back by the wrists.Chains keep you on the bed, unable to move, cutting into your wrists and ankles.The door opens._

_“Good morning, Frisk,” says Chara, leaning in the doorframe._

_You want to cry out, but your voice is gone._

_Chara walks slowly toward you, smiling down at your body.They don’t meet your eyes.They sit down on the bed and you jerk backward from the sudden movement.They place a hand on your leg and you screw your eyes shut and look away._

_“I am going to kill you,” says Chara impassively.You open your eyes and look at them, their hand now clenched around a knife.You try to jerk away, pulling against the chains.Chara raises the knife above your chest._

You wake up in a cold sweat, a scream dying on your lips.You sit up and your vision blurs, your head throbbing.You take a deep breath and open your eyes.

You’re in Chara’s house, and a slice of pie is on the nightstand next to a glass of water.

* * *

You’re still staring blankly at the pie when Chara walks into the room.“Oh, you’re awake.”

You nod silently.Chara makes their way over to the bed.You notice now that they’re limping, grasping a long walking stick with both hands.They sit on a chair by the bed and place the stick gingerly on the ground before looking back at you.

“How do you feel?”

You blink a few times, not knowing how to respond, still staring at the pie.Chara says nothing, waiting patiently for you to gather your thoughts.You shrug and reach for the water.

Chara continues to say nothing while you drink in long sips until the glass is empty.“Why am I back here?” you ask quietly when you place it back on the nightstand.

“I guess word got around that I took you in last time,” says Chara, shrugging.“One of the Whimsuns found you and brought you here.”

“But why did you...?”

“...What, did you think my offer was void after...” Chara stops themself and thinks for a moment.“I understand if you don’t want to stay,” they say finally, “but you will _always_ be welcome here.”They shrug again.“Feel free to come and go as you please.”

You narrow your eyes at them.“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”Chara places one hand on their chest and holds their other hand up, two fingers extended.“Scout’s honor.”

You can’t help but snort in laughter at the sight of a grown person saying ‘scout’s honor’ with sincerity.Chara seems to relax a little.

“I’ll get you some more water,” they say, grabbing your glass from the nightstand and standing up.

“Wait.”

Chara stops and looks at you expectantly, leaning on their stick.

“Aren’t you angry?” you ask.

Chara starts to say something, stops, and starts again.“No.You did nothing wrong.”They turn to leave again.

“You said not to go to the basement and I did anyway.”

Not turning to face you, Chara shrugs.“I would have done the same in your place.”

* * *

When you’re well enough to walk again, you leave Chara’s house for three days only to wake up in their guest bedroom again with yet another broken limb.You aren’t sure how this one happened, honestly - your memories are pretty hazy from before you blacked out.

The pie and water on the nightstand give you an uncomfortable sense of deja vu, but you ignore it because you haven’t eaten since you left.You think about asking Chara for more money, but quickly dismiss the thought.They’d probably want something in return, and you can survive without it.

You’re surprised by them asking what happened to you when you see them again.They seem disappointed when you don’t have an answer for them, and you think about asking why they wanted to know.

“If someone attacks you again,” they say before you do, “tell them you’re under my protection.They’ll stop.”

You ball the sheets of the bed in your fists nervously before you gain the courage to respond.“They’re afraid of you.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Chara looks you in the eye for the first time in a while.They start to say something, stop, start again...

“I don’t want them to be afraid of me,” you interrupt.

Chara looks taken aback.They nod minutely, looking away.“You are a strange child,” they laugh.

“It’s not strange,” you mutter.

“You are going to keep getting hurt if you do nothing to defend yourself.”

You shrug.“Then I’ll keep getting hurt.”

“That’s what I mean when I call you strange.”Chara chuckles to themself.“Look, nobody’s going to get hurt if you just tell them you’re with me.They’re scared, but mostly just because of... well, because I’m an adult human who can use magic.”

“Why is that scary?”

“What, are you saying adult humans aren’t scary?”

You start to object, but they have a point after the way you ran from them when you first met.“But... I’m not scared anymore, because you helped me.”It’s not entirely true, but you don’t want to get too specific about all this.“Why didn’t you make them not scared of you?”

Chara shrugs.“They didn’t need my help.”

“Did you _want_ them to be scared of you?”

Chara is silent for a long moment, thinking.“I don’t know,” they admit.

* * *

“What happened to your leg, anyway?” you ask the next time you inadvertently wake up in Chara’s house.

“Nothing,” they reply.“I’m just treating it for an old injury.”

You sit up and move to the end of the bed for a better look.“Can’t you just use your magic?”

“Doesn’t work very well if you use it on yourself.”

You take a second to think about that, looking at the weird patchwork of different materials forming their cast.“How old is it?” you ask.“The injury.”

“Oh jeez.”Chara starts counting on their fingers.“I think I was... a little younger than you?It was probably a few years after I...” they trail off, distracted.

“Wow,” you say.“It must be like fifty years old then.”

“Wha- hey!I’m not _that_ old.”

You can’t hold back your laughter anymore.You end up wrenching your injured stomach but it’s worth it for the way Chara relaxes and starts laughing along.

“Can you teach me?” you ask when you’re done giggling.

“Hm?”

“Healing magic.Can you teach me?”

“Well... that depends.”Chara rests their walking stick by the bed and sits down.“Not all humans can use magic at all.It’s hard to tell without actually trying.”

“I want to try,” you tell them.

After a moment of consideration, Chara asks, “Do you mind if I summon your soul a moment?”

You look back at them, surprised, but move toward them on the bed and sit crosslegged facing them.“Go ahead.”

Chara performs the familiar process of causing your soul to glow in your chest.The monsters did this sometimes before attacking you - it makes everything hit harder, but also hurt less.Chara holds it out less than a second before they release it.“Red,” they tell you.“That’s good; mine is also red.”They straighten their back and hold their hands out, palms up.“The most basic form of red magic is fire.Give me your hands.”

Something seems wrong about the way they said that, but you decide to trust them and place your hands in theirs.Chara gently moves your hands until they’re facing up, and holds them in place.

Suddenly, a small flame appears above your hands.

“Okay,” says Chara.“Focus on the way the flame feels.See if you can... ‘sense’ something besides the physical warmth of it.”

You close your eyes and try to do as they said.You can feel the heat from the flame, but...“I can’t feel anything else.”

Chara hums in thought and the flame disappears.

“Does that mean I can’t do it?” you ask, opening your eyes.

Chara looks at your hands, brows furrowed.“Not necessarily.I’ll... see if I can find some other method.”They lower their voice until you can barely hear them, and you don’t think they mean for you to hear at all, “Toriel was always a better teacher than me.”

“Who’s Toriel?”

Chara looks up, startled, before releasing your hands and standing up.“Nobody,” they tell you, hastily exiting the room.

* * *

[Chara]

_You lie awake, getting more and more nervous by the minute about how little sleep you’re going to get.You can’t make out what Toriel and Asgore are saying to each other on the other side of her door, but you know they’re shouting and you doubt you have long before one of them comes in here and forces you out from the relative safety of Toriel’s room._

_You roll onto your side facing away from the door and curl into a ball.Your injured leg ends up on bottom, but the pain is subsiding a bit and it doesn’t hurt much more this way than it already did.You try not to care about how cold it is with nothing even resembling a blanket, rubbing your feet gently against the carpet to keep them warm.(You daren’t complain.It’s still better than the stone floor of the basement.)_

_A part of your brain points out that the bed is unoccupied, that you could climb up to it.Your leash would probably reach, too.It’s been fastened to the foot of the bed - too short to lie on the bed correctly, but long enough you could curl up with your head at the foot._

_You shake your head to make yourself stop thinking about this.The monsters would be furious if they found you like that.You close your eyes and try to think about nothing, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep._

_The door opens suddenly, and you squint your eyes against the blinding light.“Are you asleep?” asks Toriel from the doorway, and you reluctantly shake your head no.You don’t turn to look at her as she walks over to you and kneels to remove the leash from the bedframe.It’s a softer collar, so it doesn’t hurt when she pulls lightly up on it.You force yourself to your feet again, trying to ignore the pain in your leg, and follow Toriel into the hallway._

_She leads you to the living room and motions for you to sit at the table.You obey, noticing now that Asgore is already seated.Toriel sits next to you and addresses Asgore._

_“I cannot allow this to continue any longer.”_

_Your heart skips a beat._

_“Asgore,” she continues, “look at them.What we have done to them - what we continue to do to them - I will no longer stand for it.”_

_Asgore says nothing, and you don’t look to see his expression.You can’t stop shaking.When neither of the monsters move to speak, you whisper, “P-please don’t kill me.”_

_The monsters continue to say nothing._

_“I’ll be good,” you continue, voice breaking as your eyes become wet.“I promise.I’ll do anything you want, just p-please... d-don’t...”_

_“We are not going to kill you,” says Toriel._

_You sniffle and nod, wiping your tears from your face and trying to stop your hands from shaking._

_“You know this has never been what I wanted,” says Asgore quietly.“But there is nothing else we can do.Tori, you know this.”_

_Toriel sighs.“You are more of a coward than I thought.”_

* * *

“knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“over.”

“Over who?”

“excuse you, i’m right on time.”

You chuckle at the pun a little halfheartedly.“You came back.”

Your friend sighs.“yeah.i’ve been, uh.thinking about what you said.”

“Look, don’t worry about it.The human actually... well, I think they’re staying.At least for a while.”

“that’s good to hear,” he says.“i... i stand by what i said before, but you should know i’m not gonna fight ‘em personally if they do come through.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

_“Wake up.”Toriel nudges your shoulder gently and you squint back at her.Is it morning already?It doesn’t feel like it.You push yourself to your feet anyway, staying close to the end of her bed so your collar doesn’t choke you.Toriel detaches the leash from the bedframe before handing you a pile of clothes.“Get dressed,” she says, and leaves._

_Yawning silently, you pull on the shirt and pants she gave you before noticing there are a lot of clothes here.She included a jacket, a pair of socks - there’s even a pair of shoes here.You wonder briefly if it was some kind of mistake, but put them on anyway.You’re just pulling the leash out so it rests over the clothes when Toriel reenters the room._

_You hand her the end of the leash and she leads you out of the room without another word.You notice that she doesn’t bind your hands or replace your collar with the heavier metal one you usually wear outside.Maybe she’s in a hurry?There isn’t anybody else in the hallway or the living room when the two of you reach the front door._

_You rest your hands behind you and focus on keeping up with her, head bowed, back straight.Toriel leads you through a long series of caves and tunnels until you reach an elevator, then brings you from the other end of the elevator to a river._

_You’d heard of the river before, but you’ve never seen it.It’s calm and peaceful - nothing like the rapid, white water of the creek on the surface.There’s a wooden boat tied to the dock.Toriel climbs onto it and you follow suit, having a seat across from her.She produces a pair of paddles from the floor of the boat and begins rowing.You struggle to stay awake._

_The boat comes to a halt, jarring you out of your half-sleep, and you follow Toriel onto the snowy bank.You’ve been here before, you think.Once.This place is called Snowdin.You notice how comparatively dark it is.You think it might actually be the middle of the night._

_Your suspicions are corroborated by the fact that nobody is around in Snowdin.Toriel leads you through the town and into the woods, and a part of you begins to wonder if she’s taking you to a secluded place so she can kill you._

_You take a deep breath and force yourself not to think about that.You’re glad for the shoes - the snow is ankle deep in some places and you think your feet would have frozen solid by now if you’d been forced to walk through here barefoot._

_You almost bump into Toriel when she stops abruptly in front of an enormous stone door.You suddenly recognize this path -_ _it’s the one you took to New Home, when everyone moved out of the Ruins._ _Toriel opens the door with some difficulty and you follow her inside.She closes the door behind you and casts some kind of light blue spell on it before leading you upstairs._

_As soon as you’re upstairs, Toriel relaxes visibly and ruffles your hair affectionately.She then removes your collar and takes your hand instead.“Come,” she says excitedly.“I have a surprise for you.”_

_That doesn’t sound good.You follow her into the hallway and she opens the door to the room that used to belong to Asriel._

_“Your own room!” she says, and you can’t stop yourself from staring openly at her.She’s looking at you expectantly, and you look back and forth between her and the room a couple of times._

_“I don’t understand,” you say finally._

_Toriel kneels to your height and places a hand on your shoulder.“You are safe here,” she says.“I will demand nothing more from you, and you may do as you please.This room is yours from now on.”She punctuates her statement with a sincere grin, and you find yourself staring blankly back at her._

_“Um, do...” you say eventually, breaking eye contact. “Do you mean I can sleep on the bed?”_

_Toriel laughs softly.“Yes, small one,” she says.“You may sleep on the bed.”_

_Your instincts scream that this is some kind of trap, but in your half asleep state you can’t bring yourself to care.You give Toriel a curt bow, say “Thank you,” and walk hesitantly toward the bed.You glance back at her every few feet, expecting her to stop you, but she doesn’t._

_You sit on the bed and kick your shoes off and lie down.Toriel turns out the light and closes the door.You try to stay awake long enough to think about what’s happening, but sleep takes you almost immediately._

* * *

“You know,” you say casually over breakfast one morning after Frisk returns again, “if you want we could just make it _your_ room.”

Frisk looks up from their plate to stare at you with wide eyes.You didn’t think it was that big a deal - it’s Frisk’s room in everything but name at this point - but they still insist on referring to it as your ‘guest room.’They take another bite of pie and chew it while they think.“Are you sure?” they ask tentatively.

“Sure,” you reply, shrugging.“I mean, it’s not like anybody else is using it.”

“But then you wouldn’t have a guest room anymore,” objects Frisk.“Where would your guests sleep?”

“I think you’re overestimating how often I have guests.”

Frisk takes another bite of pie, furrowing their brows.“But what would you do when you _did_ have guests?They can’t sleep in there if it’s my room.”

They really do care about this, don’t they?You stab your own pie again in consideration.“I could turn that old storage space into a guest room,” you say finally.“I think there’s even a bed in there.”

“But then where would you put the stuff you’re storing there?”

“Honestly?Most of it’s garbage.I’ve been meaning to clean it out for a while now.”

Frisk finishes off their pie, looking apprehensive.“Are you sure?That sounds like a lot of work...”

“Frisk, I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life.”

Frisk laughs.They place their fork back on their plate and twirl it a couple of times before they concede.“Okay.”

* * *

[Frisk]

The next time you leave Chara’s house, they insist you bring the leftover pie with you.They tell you they’re never going to be able to finish it on their own, and they don’t want it to go to waste.You accept because you’re used to not having anything to eat when you’re not at Chara’s.

You’re surprised by a small group of monsters approaching you when you sit down to eat it.You start to put it away, ready for a fight, when one of them says, “Is that snail pie?”

You nod, tilting your head as an unspoken question.

“It smells so familiar,” says another monster.“Where did you get it?”

“Chara,” you reply.

The monsters exchange a glance with each other.“Is... is it Madam Toriel’s recipe?”

You shrug.Chara mentioned someone by that name, but not in relation to the pie.

“It smells like it,” supplies a froggit.

“Can we have some?”

“We’ll pay you.”

You think about it for a long moment before saying, “Fifty gold.”

The monsters whisper to each other and you’re expecting them to haggle you down, but they pool their money and hand you a large pile of coins.

You accept and give them the pie - you can use this to buy more donuts than you could carry.“Who’s Toriel?” you ask them while they debate over who gets how much.

“You don’t know?”

“She used to live in that house with Chara.”

“She was really mean to anyone who tried to hurt them.”

“We used to call her the rebel queen.”

“Why?” you ask.

“She hated it.”

“But she was protecting a human!”

“She always said she was doing it for her kingdom.”

“She said humans and monsters could live in peace.”

“We didn’t believe her.”

“We still don’t believe her.”

You finish stacking the coins into piles of ten - it comes out to fifty.“Why not?” you ask.

The monsters exchange another glance, and the ones with pie begin eating.

“Because of what happened to her.”

You’re starting to get nervous.“What do you mean?What happened?”

“Nobody knows.”

“One day she just...”

“...Disappeared.”

You stare blankly at them, not knowing how to respond.

“I wonder,” says one monster.

“Did Chara...?” asks another.

“Did Chara take her soul?” finishes a third.

You look down at the money they gave you.“I don’t think so,” you tell them.“Chara said a human has never absorbed the soul of a monster.They said they didn’t know if it was possible.”

“And you believe them?”

“I do.”

One of the monsters shakes their head.“I still don’t think they’re to be trusted.”

“Nobody here is to be trusted.”

Various monsters nod in agreement.

“When Toriel couldn’t protect them anymore...”

“Some of us tried to kill them.”

“We wanted to bring their soul to the king.”

“But those of us we sent to do it...”

“...Never came back.”

“What...?” you ask.“You think Chara killed them?”

The monsters nod.There is silence for a moment.

One of the whimsuns speaks up.“On the other hand...” they start.

“Ugh, we know about your sibling,” grumbles a vegetoid.

“I don’t,” you say.

The whimsun continues.“When they were injured in that cave in, Chara is the one who healed them.”

“Saved their life,” says another whimsun.

“You lot have gotten soft,” says a migosp.“You can’t think they’re not dangerous just because they helped one monster.”

“I’m not saying that,” intones the first whumsun.“I just don’t think they’d hurt anyone that didn’t try to hurt them.”

“Or someone they care about,” whispers the second whimsun, looking pointedly at you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Some violence  
> \- The leash again


	4. Chapter 4

[Chara]

_You wake up on your own, and for a moment you’re convinced you must still be dreaming.You don’t wake up on your own - not ever.You sleep until one of the monsters comes to wake you.You realize that you’re in a bed, covers tucked up to your neck, and you’re wearing socks and a jacket, and there’s a slice of pie on the ground in front of you._

_Memories from last night suddenly return to you.You sit up wearily and inspect the pie.There’s a note next to it that reads: ‘Human, this is for you.’Signed, ‘Toriel.’There’s a fork on the plate, and you spend a couple of minutes trying to remember how to use it._

_It’s the best slice of pie you’ve ever tasted.When you finish, unreasonably proud of yourself for not spilling anything, you bring the plate with you into the hallway._

_You hesitate at the door, wondering if you’re allowed to leave, but eventually your curiosity wins out and you open the door silently and tiptoe through the hallway.You see Toriel in the living room reading a book.She sees you while you’re dithering over whether to approach._

_“Ah, good morning!” she says cheerfully._

_For a second, you’re confused again - are you allowed to speak? - but she stands up and walks over to you - you have to stop yourself from taking an instinctive step backward - and takes the plate from your hands.You follow her into the kitchen and watch her carefully.She’s humming quietly to herself, smiling more than you think she ever has - at least with you around.You’ve always loved it when she smiled, so you let yourself watch her for a moment longer than you should._

_When she turns to look at you, you avert your gaze and look at your feet again.(You’re wearing socks.)You feel her hand on your head and she kneels to look at you.You look back at her, and she meets your gaze with a soft expression._

_“It is alright if you want to speak,” she says.“And I do mean from now on.Was there something you wanted to ask me?”_

_You do have a question, but you’re not sure if it’s an okay question.Still, she looks at you expectantly until you decide to go ahead and ask._

_“Um...” you start, trying to keep your voice quiet, “How long do I get to stay here?”You can’t keep your voice from breaking embarrassingly in the middle of the sentence, and you break eye contact to look at your socks again.“I mean, u-um, not that I d-don’t like it at the h-house but, um,”_

_“Small one,” interrupts Toriel, but not angrily, “You do not ever have to go back there.You have my word.”_

* * *

Frisk insists on helping you clean out the storage space that used to be Asgore’s room.You mostly just have them carrying stuff for you so you don’t have to stand very much on your still-fucking-injured leg.(The cast turned out to be completely useless.You must have re-injured it three times by now.)At one point, while you’re sorting through a pile of old crap, Frisk speaks up from where they’re watching crosslegged on the bed.

“The monsters told me who Toriel was.”

You focus on staring at the dusty, empty picture frame in your hands.Frisk waits for you to respond, but you have nothing to say.You sort another three items before they speak again.

“Can I ask you something?About her?”

You aren’t sure you want to talk about it, but... “You can ask.”

“How did she die?”

You abandon the pile you’re sorting to look back at them.They meet your gaze with a concerned expression.You clench your fists on the carpet.“They found us,” you reply simply.

“‘They?’”

You return your attention to the pile as an excuse not to maintain eye contact.“The royal guard.The royal family.Asriel.”You whisper his name, still unsure how you feel about him after all these years.

“How did you survive?”

You hesitate, carefully adding another few items to various piles.You pick up a book that used to belong to Toriel and stare blankly at the cover.“She protected me,” you say finally.“It was the last thing she did.”

* * *

Among the things the Dreemurs left behind is a book made to teach magic to small children.Frisk isn’t nearly as small as the book is aiming for, but you figure it’s a good place to start.You give it to them the next time they find themself half-dead on your doorstep, and they spend a while reading through it by the fire in the living room.

They insist on sitting on the floor whether you’re in the room with them or not, so you take the chair with a book of your own.It’s a novel - you’ve had it with medical nonsense - and it isn’t long before you find yourself getting lost in it.

Frisk brings you back to reality by setting the carpet on fire.

They apologize again and again while the two of you put the fire out.It’s the most you’ve heard them speak in the entire time you’ve known them.By the time the fire’s out (which isn’t that long, it’s just a small fire) they must have repeated themself a hundred times.

“Kid,” you say, again, “It’s okay, really.Hell, you should’ve seen it when _I_ started learning magic.You think the carpet is bad - try setting somebody’s _fur_ on fire.”You’d been locked in the basement for a week after that, but Toriel insisted it was fine when you asked about it after she took you in.

Frisk sniffles, trying to keep themself from crying with marginal success.“Just ‘cause it could be worse doesn’t mean it’s okay,” they mumble.

“Yeah, but... hey, look at the bright side - this means you can do magic!”

Frisk looks up at you for a second before withdrawing again.“Not very well,” they mutter.

“Frisk, come on.Nobody can control their magic the first time they summon it.This is just what _happens_ when you have red magic.Sometimes you set stuff on fire.”Frisk doesn’t react, so you keep going.“Look, nobody got hurt and this carpet was starting to smell anyway.It really is okay.”

“Why won’t you just get mad at me?”

You’re taken aback.Frisk wrings their hands together, not meeting your eyes.

“You’re always doing this,” they continue.“You act like everything is okay no matter what.You always say I didn’t do anything wrong so how am I supposed to know when I _did_ do something wrong?”They pull their knees to their chest and continue not looking at you.“I snuck into your basement even though you told me not to.I tried to put everyone in danger by leaving the Ruins.I _set your house on fire_.And you’re sitting there trying to tell me it isn’t my fault and I didn’t do anything wrong.Why?”They shove their face into their knees and you barely hear them when they finish, “Why won’t you hate me?”

It takes you a long time to figure out how to answer.Frisk stares silently at nothing and waits.You place a hand on their back and when they don’t object, you start rubbing it gently.Finally, you speak.“I don’t... _want_ to hate you.”You sigh, rubbing your bad leg with your other hand and trying not to be too distracted by the extremely poorly timed wave of pain.“I guess... the truth is, I’ve done a lot worse than go places I’m not supposed to be and set carpets on fire.If I hated you for it, that would make me a hypocrite.Does that make sense?”

Frisk shrugs, still not turning to look at you.

“Do you _want_ me to be angry at you?”

Frisk sighs, burying their face deeper in their knees before looking up to reply.“Yeah, I think I do.At least then I’d know how you really felt.”

“Frisk...”

“Don’t.I... I don’t know why you’re doing all,” Frisk gestures vaguely, “ _this_.But I know if you were trying to be a _parent_ you’re doing it all wrong.You haven’t even yelled at me or made me do anything or... or...”

They trail off and you take the opportunity to interrupt.“I wasn’t going for ‘parent,’ really.I think I’d rather be the cool aunt... uncle... Ankle?”

Frisk snorts, suppressing a laugh.“See, that’s another thing.You call me ‘they’ even though I never asked you to.Is that... Is it magic or something?Can you just _tell?_ ”

This time you’re the one suppressing a laugh.“Nah, it’s just considered polite down here.You just use ‘they’ until the person tells you otherwise.Since you never corrected me...” you shrug.Frisk actually looks back at you now, reading your expression, brows furrowed.

They look back ahead of them at nothing before they speak.“I didn’t even know it was allowed before those monsters told me about you.”

“Yeah... neither did I before I fell.”

“Are you really human?”

Frisk says it so casually that it takes you a minute to register what they said.“I... yes?Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re...” Frisk makes another vague gesture and punctuates it with a frustrated sigh.“You’re so _nice._ You’re quiet and easygoing and you don’t yell or hit people or break things-”

“Remember how I tried to kill you that one time?”

Frisk sighs again, resting their face back on their knees.“Only because I...”

“Okay, I’m just gonna stop you there.I...”You realize all at once that you never even apologized for that.“There was no good reason for me to hurt you like that.I was being stupid and self righteous and... and if I had just told you the freaking _truth_ none of it would’ve happened.It wasn’t your fault, and I’m sorry.”You move your hand from their back to their shoulder and pull them into an awkward approximation of a hug.“I’m really sorry, Frisk.”

* * *

[Frisk]

Chara doubles down on their efforts to make you feel at home in their house, which makes you happy and anxious in equal measure at the same time.The next time you leave, you ask for some pie to take with you and end up with half of one shoved awkwardly into your backpack.You don’t have the heart to tell Chara you aren’t actually going to eat it, but you doubt they would really mind.

(You briefly consider telling them how profitable this stuff can be, but decide to wait until it’s not your only source of income.)

This time you actually manage to run out of food money before getting injured badly enough to need Chara’s help.This is a mixed blessing, because you aren’t sure you want to show up at Chara’s house to ask for food.You don’t want them to get the idea that you’re not self-sufficient, even though strictly speaking you guess you’re not.Still, you used to be able to stretch your food out over much longer periods before you got this hungry.You’re getting spoiled.

After a few days of eating whatever you can find, you knock on Chara’s door.They answer quickly as they always do, and you notice them looking you over for injuries before they let you in.

“Are you alright?” they ask, and you nod, unsure how exactly to go about doing this.

“Um... you said I could ‘come and go’ whenever I wanted, so...”

“Ah, okay.So you’re not injured?”

“No.I... is this okay?”

“Of course!Yeah, no problem.Are you hungry?I was just about to make another pie.”

* * *

“Do you eat anything other than pie?” you ask, watching Chara knead the dough for the crust.

Chara starts to say something, stops, and looks down at the dough with a tense expression.“Okay, so maybe I’m in a rut.Why, did you want something else?”

You shrug.“No, the pie is... it’s good.I was just wondering.”

“I should probably try to branch out anyway,” they say, more to themself than to you.“There were a bunch of recipes Toriel left behind...”They roll the dough up and give it a little pat before placing it in a bowl and washing their hands off in the sink.“They’re probably in that storage room, though,” they add, opening the refrigerator and sticking the dough inside.

“I can help clean it out some more today,” you suggest, trying not to sound too eager to be able to make the guest room _your_ room.

“Sure, thanks.”Chara sets a timer and stretches their arms.“Yeah, why don’t we get a head start on that while the dough rests?”

* * *

It’s an innocuous looking cardboard box with frayed edges and no label, and you wouldn’t think anything of it except that it makes a strange clanking sound when you pick it up to bring to Chara.Against your better judgement, you set it down and open it yourself.Inside is... it’s a collection of chains and... handcuffs?You pull out a pair of - yeah, these are handcuffs.They’re child-sized, designed for someone about as big as you.You look back at Chara - they’re still sorting through a different box and haven’t seen what you’re looking at.

You look back at the box.There’s at least two leashes, one with a heavy metal collar.There’s another pair of cuffs with a longer chain.There's a whip.You don’t know what to do with this.Why would Chara have these?Or did they belong to Toriel?Why would _she_ have them?You realize the only way to find out is to ask but...

What if these were meant for you?

You shake the thought from your head.Chara wouldn’t...

Chara _wouldn’t._

You pick up the box and bring it over to them before you can stop yourself.“Chara?”

“Hm?”

“Um,” you put the box down in front of them and watch their expression when they see what’s inside.

“Oh.”They move the box closer to them and spend a second looking through it.“I didn’t realize I still had these.”

They look almost... nostalgic.It’s unsettling.“What...” you ask, “What are they for?”

“OH.Oh, no, don’t worry.”Chara closes the box in one quick motion.“These are never getting used again, ever.”

“Again?”

Chara stares at you for a moment and stands up.“I think I heard the timer,” they lie.

* * *

[Chara]

_After a few days of living with Toriel, you start to feel vaguely comfortable in the little house in the Ruins.She gives you books and helps you read the parts you don’t understand.She lets you eat as much as you want, sometimes even getting upset when you don’t eat ‘enough.’She hasn’t yelled at you or hit you once since you came here._

_Your human parents were never this nice._

_One day when Toriel comes back, she’s not alone.Your first instinct is to hide the moment you see him, trailing behind her like nothing is wrong.You back away, glancing nervously between him and Toriel, who is also acting as though nothing is wrong and this is perfectly normal._

_This is it, you think.This is the catch._

_“Asriel,” says Toriel, “meet Chara.”_

_Asriel steps forward timidly and holds out a hand in greeting.“Um, howdy.” he says._

_You raise an eyebrow and look back at Toriel._

_“It is alright, my child,” she says, “Asriel isn’t going to hurt you.”_

_Asriel doesn’t retract the offered hand, but you still don’t trust this.There were plenty of times he hurt you at the other house when he wasn’t supposed to.It always got worse when Toriel found out.He isn’t going to be any different here._

_But... maybe he’ll at least be different in front of her?_

_You step forward and accept his hand, letting him shake it and pulling it back to your chest as soon as he lets go.Toriel ruffles his head-fur and your hair in turn._

_“You two play nice,” she says, and leaves the room._

* * *

[Frisk]

You can’t sleep.

After a few hours tossing and turning, you climb out of bed and make your way into Chara’s room.They don’t wake up when you enter, or when you close the door gently behind you.You walk silently over to their bed and notice something on the nightstand.

It’s a golden locket with the words ‘best friends’ inscribed on it.You pick it up silently and open it.

Inside is a photo of Chara when they were younger than you are now, with a goat monster a foot or so taller than them.They look happy.

* * *

[Chara]

_It takes a while, but you and Asriel eventually warm up to each other.He actually only hurts you a few times, and he even apologizes afterward.You think he really means it, too.Over time, you become something like friends._

_And then something like siblings._

* * *

[Frisk]

You wonder if Chara would be offended if you crawled into their bed.

* * *

[Chara]

_It’s a few days after the fifth anniversary of the day Toriel brought you here.You decide to make a pie on your own to surprise her when she comes back.She’s taught you so much, and you can’t thank her enough.You laugh a little to yourself as you put the pie in the oven.You’re starting to understand what the human ‘Mother’s Day’ custom is for.You wish you could remember when it was._

_(Not that Toriel would stand for you calling her ‘mother.’)_

_The oven dings a few minutes before she’s due to arrive, just as planned.You pull the pie out of it and set in on the counter to cool.The door opens and you turn around to greet her._

_The person standing in the doorway is not Toriel._

_Nor is it Asriel, or any person who should be standing in that doorway._

_You take a timid step backward and summon a fireball, knowing it’s going to be completely useless._

_In front of you, Asgore summons his trident._

* * *

_You’re on the floor in your room, your hands bound behind you and tethered to the bed. Asgore hasn’t done anything yet besides the burns it took to subdue you. You know he’s waiting until he can bring you back to the house. You don’t know what he’s keeping you here for._

_He sits on the bed above you, and you don’t dare move an inch lest he think you’re trying to escape.You can’t stop yourself from crying._

_“I’m sorry,” you say.“I’m sorry.I... I just did what I thought I was supposed to.I didn’t... I’m sorry.I’m-”_

_“Stop talking,” snaps Asgore.You recoil and bury your face in your knees, sobbing quietly._

_Eventually, the guard says something from the doorway and Asgore leaves.Not five minutes later, Asriel enters._

_You lock eyes with him, trying to plead without actually saying anything.Asriel closes the distance between you and kneels to your level._

_“Please,” you whisper.“Please let me out, Azzy.”_

_Asriel’s expression hardens.“Don’t,” he says._

_“Please.”_

_“Shut UP.”He doesn’t hit you, but he sounds like he’s going to.You flinch away, not even trying to stop crying anymore.You feel Asriel’s hand on your shirt collar and look up in time to watch him grab the locket from under your shirt and pull it over your head.You push against it in a useless attempt to stop him._

_He stands up and walks to the dresser, then hides the locket behind it._

_“I’m sorry,” you whisper, hoping he can still hear you from where he is.“I don’t know what I did but I’m sorry.Please.”_

_Asriel leaves without another word._

* * *

_You hear yelling at the door, and then fighting. You pull uselessly against the chains binding your wrists in an attempt to get away. You try to hide under the bed, to no avail. The door opens._

_It’s Toriel.She’s wounded._

_She crosses the room quickly and undoes the chains without a word.“Are you alright?” you ask, voice barely above a whisper._

_“I’m fine,” she replies, even though she clearly isn’t.You stand up and start to ask if you can heal her, but she places a hand on your shoulder and says simply, “Run.”_

_You’re halfway through the Ruins by the time you realize she isn’t behind you anymore._

* * *

You wake with a start, the memory - the dream - still burning in your eyes.You’ve been crying in your sleep again, god damn it.You start to lift your arm to dry your face, but it’s weighed down by the human child who appears to have wrapped themself around you in their sleep.

You look down at them, startled, and decide not to wake them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Referenced/implied violence and physical abuse  
> \- Verbal abuse  
> This chapter mainly deals with the aftermath of trauma and involves a couple of situations that are triggering/upsetting to the characters, but there's only one scene directly depicting abuse which is a flashback toward the end (and is pretty much in line with what's already been shown.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot appears!

[Frisk]

Time passes.

The guest room becomes your room, and the storage room becomes the guest room.Chara’s leg gets better, though if you look closely you can still see that they favor it slightly.They teach you a little magic.They teach you to make pie.You spend less and less time outside and more and more in this house - your house - with Chara.

One day, you give them a drawing you made as a gift.Chara looks at you like they’re seeing the sun for the first time.They tell you it’s the most beautiful drawing they’ve ever seen.You know they’re lying, but you still appreciate the sentiment.That drawing appears on the fridge the next morning, and it never leaves that spot.

Almost a year after the day you fell, you’re reading in the living room when Chara suddenly goes into the basement.

“I thought I heard something,” they remark as they descend.You go back to reading.

You hear an explosion.

You stand up.Chara sprints back up the steps and grabs your hand.

“Run!”

They pull you out the door and into the Ruins.You sprint to keep up with them.Their grip on your hand is painfully tight.

You hear shouting behind you.Chara cusses and stops briefly to pick you up.They keep running.

You reach a perfectly normal hallway and Chara stops dead, places you on the ground, and does some kind of magic to the wall.

The wall opens.Chara ushers you inside and follows quickly, sealing it behind you.You take a minute to get your bearings.

It’s a small room, about half the size of your bedroom, with an opening on one side that gives it access to the stream.In the far corner is a small pile of boxes labelled ‘Emergency Rations.’You look back up at Chara, who is huffing loudly and leaning against the wall.

“What’s going on?” you ask.

“Fuckers found us again,” mutters Chara.

* * *

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Chara keeps their face buried in their knees, fear starting to become prevalent in their voice.“Why _now?_ I’ve been here for almost twenty five years.I thought they’d just assumed I was dead.Why would they bother checking _now?_ ”

“Maybe they know about me,” you tell them.

They look up at you, brows furrowed.“But _how?_ The only monsters in the Ruins who have any contact with the rest of the underground are the spiders and Napstablook, and they haven’t come through since Mettaton...”

“What about your friend with the knock knock jokes?”

“He wouldn’t sell us out.”

“Maybe he had to.Or maybe he was followed when he came to talk to you.”

Chara starts to object, but stops and says nothing.

“Has this place always been here?” you ask, hoping you can calm them down by changing the subject.

Chara shakes their head.“I built it after the last time they got in.”

You walk over to Chara and sit down next to them.They’re shaking.“It’s going to be okay,” you tell them.

They look back up at you and pull you into a hug.“I’m sorry,” they laugh, “I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around.”

You hug them back, burying your face in their chest.“I’m just glad you’re being honest,” you say quietly.“I can deal with bad if I know how bad it is.”

“I’m not sure _I_ know how bad it is,” they whisper.

Something bangs twice on the outer wall.Chara pulls you into their lap and hugs you tighter, ducking their head and wrapping themself entirely around you.You look over their shoulder at the wall, eyes wide.A voice comes from outside.

“knock knock.”

Chara relaxes slightly, still shaking.

“come on,” says the voice.“knock knock.”He knocks again, quieter this time.

Chara swallows thickly.“Who’s there?” they respond.

“dishes.”

“Dishes who?”

“dishes a pretty good hiding place.”

Chara relaxes a little more, but they don’t make a pretense of laughing at the pun.“You scared me,” they tell him.

“sorry,” he says.You hear shuffling and you think he’s sitting down by the entrance.“is the kid with you?”

“Yeah.”Chara runs a hand through your hair gently.“Yeah, they’re right here.”

“good,” says the voice.“i’m glad you got out.sorry i couldn’t warn ya in time.”

“How much do they know?”

“not a whole hell of a lot.we just got a tip about a human in the ruins.apparently that was enough to warrant all this.”

“How many people are with you?”

“jeez, i think it’s about three dozen.”

“Guard members?” Chara hugs you a little tighter, the edge of fear in their voice growing.

“most of ‘em.”

Chara’s shaking resumes.You adjust your position in their lap to hug them back more easily.

“how long do you think you can hold out in there?” asks the voice.

“We have enough food for a month if we’re careful.How long do you think we’ll need to?”

“i dunno.my bro says we’re not leaving until we find somethin’, but it’s only a matter of time before he gets bored.i’ll keep ya posted.”

“Thank you.”

You hear shuffling outside, followed by a quiet dinging sound.Chara sighs, resting their head on your shoulder.

“What happens if they find us?” you ask.

Chara hugs you tighter.“They’ll kill us.”

* * *

[Chara]

_“What happened to your face?” Asks Toriel, kneeling to your height and grabbing your chin softly.She tilts your head to get a better look and you try to keep your expression blank under scrutiny.You dither for a long moment, trying to figure out if she’s expecting an answer from you, and she speaks before you can decide.“Who did this to you?Answer me.”_

_You kick yourself internally for making her repeat it.“The prince,” you reply, knowing you can’t get away with lying._

_“Asriel?” she says, pulling back her hand.You lower your head again and nod.“Why?” she asks._

_Because he felt like it, you think.“I don’t know,” you say instead._

_“He did not tell you?” she asks.You know she’s expecting a response, but you don’t want to get Asriel in trouble - that won’t end well for you._

_“H-he probably did and I, um, f-forgot, or didn’t hear him, or-”_

_“Do not lie to me.”_

_You can’t keep yourself from flinching at her tone.You lower your head even further, clenching your hands around each other behind your back.You swallow and shake your head.“He didn’t.”_

_Toriel nods and stands up.“I will have to have a word with him,” she says, more to herself than to you._

* * *

You wake with a start and bang your head against the stone wall next to where you were sleeping.You sit up, cursing under your breath and rubbing the back of your head.Frisk is asleep in the corner of the room, curled up in a ball facing away from you.You lean against the wall and try to use this as an opportunity to think.

The monsters are only looking for one human.

If you let yourself get caught, they might leave Frisk alone.In fact, since the monsters would be using your soul to cross the barrier, there’s a chance they would be even safer than before.On the other hand, there’s also a chance the monsters from the Ruins will tell the guard that there are two of you, and if Frisk tried to come out after you’d been captured they’d just be walking right into a trap.

Your best option at this point is to wait it out, but what happens when you run out of food?You pull your knees to your chest and hug your legs.You wonder what happens if they recognize you.Would they still grant you a quick death, or will Asriel be out for revenge?

Your best bet is probably to pick a fight with them before they know who you are - that way you’ll be long dead by the time Asriel finds out you were still here.

Still, if you can wait long enough for them to leave, that would be ideal.You don’t think the monsters from the Ruins will tell anyone who you are, even if they do admit that there are two humans.

* * *

“Chara?”

You stir awake, squinting up at Frisk and belatedly realizing that you’d fallen back asleep.“What’s up?” you ask, sitting up and taking in their concerned expression.

“I can’t sleep,” they tell you, looking at the ground as though it’s something to be ashamed of.“It’s cold.”

“Come here,” you say, patting your lap in an invitation to sit, which they do.You summon a flame and let them warm their hands over it.It occurs to you that they aren’t wearing shoes - you’d left in such a hurry - so you warm their feet in your hands.Frisk seems surprised, but they don’t object.A few minutes pass like that.

“Are we going to die?” they ask you, and they don’t sound scared so much as... resigned.You can’t see their face, but their head is tilted downward and they’ve curled into themself as much as they can.

You wish you had a real answer for them.

“Frisk,” you say instead, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?It’s gonna be alright.”You release their feet and wrap your arms around theirs, hugging them closer to your chest.“I’ll figure something out.”

* * *

[Frisk]

Chara’s friend comes back a few days later and you mostly tune out their conversation.They’re talking about politics and things you don’t understand, and you don’t want to interrupt them every three sentences to ask.You pass the time by practicing your magic - you’re still not very good at controlling it, but you haven’t set anything else on fire by accident.

At some point, Chara casually asks the voice, “What’s your name, anyway?”

The voice is quiet for a minute.“thought we weren’t doing names.”

“I think we’re a little past the whole ‘plausible deniability’ thing at this point.I’m Chara.”

“sans.”

“That’s a nice name.”

The voice - Sans - laughs.“not really.still, nice to officially meet ya.oh, what’s the kid’s name?”

Chara looks at you and you head over to the door to answer yourself.“Frisk.”

“you can talk,” says Sans.

“Mhm.”

“hey, nice to finally meet ya, kid.chara’s told me a lot.”

“Good things,” says Chara.You nod.

After a moment, “not much for conversation, huh?i getcha.”

“Did you tell them I was here?” you ask, against your better judgement.Chara goes stiff next to you.Sans is quiet for a second.

“no,” he says.“actually, i’ve been meanin’ to bring that up - Muffet came forward to take credit for the tip we got.”

“Muffet?” you ask.

“The person in charge of the spiders...” says Chara, leaning their head against the door.“But they’ve known about Frisk for _ages_.What changed?”

Sans answers, “few weeks back the king put a pricetag on any information leading to the capture of a human.”

Chara cusses and rests their head on their knees.

“How much?” you ask.

“...kid,”

“I want to know what I’m worth to them.”

Chara stares at you, brows furrowed.Eventually Sans answers.

“five hundred.”

“That’s _it?_ ” asks Chara, offended.“I could have _tripled_ that.The spiders know it.That... god, that’s just absurd.”

Sans laughs.“Are you seriously offended the price on your head isn’t high enough?”

“I’m offended the spiders would stoop to murder rather than extortion.Honestly, it would have been so easy.”

“They’re scared of you,” you say quietly.

“The spiders are?” asks Chara.You nod.

“They think you’re someone who hates spiders.”

Chara’s expression softens.They look at the ground in front of them.“Okay, I... I can see where they might’ve gotten that idea.”

“great, glad we got that cleared up,” says Sans.“with that out of the way, i really ought to get going.”

“Thanks.”

“no prob.see you around.”

You hear the dinging noise again.Chara leans back against the wall and you crawl up next to them to rest your head on their arm.They pull you into a hug and you curl up, starting to feel sleepy again.

“They’re not leaving anytime soon,” says Chara quietly.

You nod and hug them back.“We have food for a month, right?”

“Yeah.”Chara’s arms tighten slightly around you.“I hope it’s enough.”

* * *

You’re trying to get to sleep about a week later when Sans knocks on the door again.You don’t bother stirring to let them know you’re awake, but you listen in on their conversation this time.

“Do you think if we wait until the next human falls, they’ll bring _that_ human back and leave us alone?”

“uh, probably?you honestly think you can last that long?”

“We’d need to find some other source of food, but... I don’t know.We might have to.”

“i guess.”

“But, just so we’re clear.The king wants _a_ human, right?Not _this specific_ human?”

“yup.why?”

“Just thinking.”

“hey, chara?”

“Yeah?”

“you know i know you’re human, right?”

There’s silence for a long moment.“No,” says Chara eventually.“I did not know that.”

“if you’re planning what i think you’re planning...”

Sans trails off.Chara waits for him to finish.

“chara, you’re not actually gonna fight them, are you?”

Chara is quiet for another few moments.“I’m not planning anything right now.”

“you are, aren’t you.that’s suicide.”

They sigh.“I know.That’s kind of the point.”

“you really care about the kid that much?”

You hear shuffling as Chara shifts on the floor.“Everything that’s happened has been my fault.If I can protect even a single child... maybe that would be enough.”

“chara...”

“Hey,” Chara interrupts, an edge of fear starting to work its way into their voice, “do you remember that promise I asked you for when all this started?”

“‘course i remember.”

“What are the odds I could change your mind?”their voice breaks toward the end of the sentence.They’re holding back tears.

Sans is silent for a long time.Chara sniffles once, twice, three times...

“i have one condition.”

“Anything.”

“this last stand a yours.you won’t hurt my brother.”

Chara sniffs again.“Of course.”

“not a _single bone on his body_ , got it?and if you dust him i’ll kill the kid _myself_.”

“Don’t worry.”Chara lets out a sigh of relief.“How do I know which one’s Papyrus?”

“he’s the tall skeleton with the ridiculous outfit.you can’t miss him.just... just make sure he doesn’t get hurt, and i’ll do what i can for frisk.”

“Thank you.”

Both of them go silent.You continue to lie awake and stare at nothing.You can feel your heart beating in your throat.

Chara was the one good thing about this place.

You can’t let them do this, but how would you stop them?They’re already resigned to it.They don’t even know you know what they’re planning.They... they honestly believe that you’re worth it.

You can’t afford to lose them.

Tears start to well up in your eyes and you force them back.You can’t give away that you’re awake - not now.Sans’ voice comes through the door again.

“hey, this is a last resort, right?tell me you’re gonna try to wait it out first.”

“That’s the plan,” replies Chara.

* * *

[Chara]

Frisk starts insisting that they aren’t hungry.

You’ve already divided up the rations so you know how much you can eat each day to make it last a month.Frisk never had a problem with it before, but now they’ll eat only a few bites and claim that’s all they want.

“We only have so much food.I can last longer than this!I’ve gone days before.”

“Frisk...”

“You eat it!You’re bigger than me, so you probably need more food.”

“Why do you suddenly care so much about this?”

“We have to make it last as long as possible, right?”

“That doesn’t mean starving yourself!”

“Oh, ‘cause that’s not what _you’re_ doing.”

It goes on like that for hours.You eventually concede on the condition that they promise to tell you if they’re not feeling well.Said promise sounds a little disingenuous, but it’s clear that’s all you’re going to get.

Days turn to weeks and the pile of rations starts to dwindle.The monsters continue to show no signs of leaving.

* * *

_“Did you tell her?” demands Asriel, pulling harshly on your leash until you’re less than an inch from his face.You shake your head no, trying not to meet his eyes but unable to look down.“That’s interesting.”He releases his grip on the leash and shoves you to the ground.“Because she said when she asked what happened you told her it was ME.”_

_You cover your face with your arm instinctively.“I d-didn’t tell her what happened!”_

_“You may as well have.”_

_You hear him opening a drawer and can’t help but flinch.“I’m sorry,” you whimper.He grabs your wrist and pulls you to your feet before tying your hands behind you.“I’m sorry,” you repeat, knowing it won’t make a difference._

_Asriel leads you to the closet and pushes you inside.You stumble and fall to your knees, and he pulls you backward until you land on your butt.He grabs one of your ankles and ties the end of your leash to it.He tightens it until it hurts, and then leaves._

_Time passes.Your leg starts to tingle, then goes numb, then starts to ache.Your neck hurts.You can barely breathe.Your wrists and shoulders start to hurt.Your hands fall asleep and go numb.You hear Asriel come in and out of his room a few times.You know calling out to him will only make it worse.Your stomach hurts._

_You’re so tired._

* * *

_“Smile!” you say, pointing the camera in Asriel’s direction and grinning.He smiles back at you - a relaxed, easy smile that’s so different from the one he had in the capitol.“Haha - this time I got YOU!I left the lens cap on - on purpose!”_

_Asriel laughs along with you and replies, “Is that your idea of a prank, Chara?”_

_“Maybe?”_

_“Here, give me the camera.I’ll show you a prank.”_

_You hand over the camera, a little apprehensively.“Okay.Who are we pranking?”_

_“YOU!” he shouts, then shoves you to the ground and runs away, cackling._

_“I don’t think that really counts as a prank either,” you mutter, getting to your feet and running after him._

* * *

You don’t know which Asriel you’re going to find if you turn yourself in.On some level, it’s still Asriel - it’s always just been Asriel - but the Asriel you knew in the capitol and the one you knew in the ruins were so... different.Maybe it was Toriel’s influence in the ruins, or Asgore’s influence in the capitol.Probably both.

When Frisk is asleep, you pull your locket from under your shirt and stare at the photo.

He was your best friend for so long.He was your only friend.He’d acted so nice and done so much for you and you’d loved him so much.

Was it all an act?

It couldn’t have been... but, well.You were acting, too, weren’t you?You pretended you forgave him.You pretended none of it mattered to you.You pretended that you didn’t still wake up in the middle of the night with a scream dying on your lips because you thought you were _back_ there.You pretended you weren’t afraid of him.

Maybe he saw that.Maybe that’s why he...

You take a deep breath, trying to steady your thinking.This isn’t about him.This isn’t about you.It’s about Frisk.

You’ve seen so many children come through here.You can’t even imagine what fates they must have met when they left.You’ve warned them.You’ve tried to be there for them.You’ve helped them.And every single time, they decided to keep going.Every single time, they went on to their inevitable deaths at the hands of your best and only friend.

Until Frisk.

You wipe a tear from your eyes and stand up.You take one last look at the locket and think about everything you used to love about him.You take those feelings and put them inside the locket, then snap it shut.

You toss the locket into the river.

* * *

“We’re running out of food.”

Sans goes quiet for a second before replying, “yeah.you said you’d last a month, right?it’s been two.”

“Yeah.”

“how much do you have left?”

“A few days’ worth.”

Frisk hugs you tighter, curled up in your lap.

“Any signs of them slowing down out there?”

“nope.”

You sigh, running your fingers idly through Frisk’s hair.“I’m going to have to head out and find more.”

Frisk’s grip on you tightens even more.You hug them back.

“well, you should be okay during the shift change - three o’clock sharp.”

You check your watch.It’s almost two-thirty.

You take a deep breath.You really are doing this.

“No sense waiting any longer,” you tell him.

He offers a half-hearted chuckle.“good luck.”

“Can’t you help?” asks Frisk suddenly.

“forgive me if i ain’t exactly keen on takin’ that kind a risk.i can tell ya what you need to know - that’s it.”

“What are you so scared of, anyway?” Frisk mutters.

“do you know what they _do_ to traitors?” asks Sans.Frisk says nothing.

You clear your throat.“Anyway.Three o’clock sharp, got it.Anything else I should know?”

“stay away from the house.”

“Alright.”

* * *

When the time comes for you to leave, Frisk clings onto you and refuses to let go.

“Frisk, it’s okay,” you lie, “I’ll be back before you know it, okay?”

“You promise?”

“Yeah.”You kneel to their height and hold out your pinkie finger.Frisk locks it with theirs.“I promise.”You hug them again, partly so they can’t see your face because you’re having more and more trouble not giving away what you’re going to do.“Hey, Frisk...”

“Mm?”

“If... if something goes wrong.”

“It won’t,” they insist.“You’ll come back, you promised.”

“I know.I’m coming back, but.”You shift your weight and sit down so you can hug them tighter.“But if I _can’t_ , I want you to promise me something.Stay here.Stay hidden.”You pull away and grab their shoulders to look them in the eye.“Stay _safe._ ”

“Chara...”

“As long as you have food, you don’t leave this room.And when you do, you don’t leave the Ruins.Please,”you look away, trying not to cry.“Please promise me.”

Frisk hesitates for a long time.Finally, they close the gap between you and hug you and whisper, “Okay.Okay, I promise.”

You hug them back as tight as you can.“Thank you.”

* * *

You are going to die.

You inhale deeply and draw your knife.You can hear the guards chatting with each other around the corner.You breathe out slowly through your nose.

You’re going to die, but you’re going to bring as many of those bastards down with you as you possibly can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Child abuse (physical and verbal)  
> \- The leash again  
> \- Starvation/food anxiety (this isn't super graphic but it is a plot point so yeah)  
> \- Suicide  
> (This is the first chapter where the violence starts to leave flashbacks and happen in the present day, but the child abuse and the worst of the violence is still just in flashbacks. Ends on a cliffhanger.)  
> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet Asriel!

[Chara]

In a word, _chaos_.

You’ve lost track of how many monsters you’ve attacked, of whether they got up again after you knocked them down.The smell of dust permeates the air - but then again, it always does.You duck left, right, attack, dodge again.You turn, summoning another attack, and see a tall skeleton in a ridiculous outfit.

Your heart sinks - it’s Papyrus.

You cancel your attack and run.Papyrus follows close on your heels.You’re guessing Sans told you to stay away from your house because that’s where Papyrus was - it should be okay to head there now.A bone attack grazes your shoulder and almost knocks you off balance.You keep running.

You burst into the living room and are immediately met with a dozen magic attacks coming straight for you.You barely dodge out of the way in time to end up on the floor surrounded by elite guards.You push yourself to your feet and summon another attack.

“Stand down!”

The monsters turn, surprised, and the crowd parts as someone else comes into view.

Asriel smiles down at you.“Stand down,” he repeats.“This one’s mine.”

* * *

The monsters reluctantly part to give you and Asriel space.You smile back at him, trying not to give away how badly your shoulder hurts, how exhausted you already are.“I have to admit,” you say, failing to make the levity in your voice convincing, “I’m impressed you would come for me yourself.”

“How could I not?” he replies easily, “You’ve been such a pain in my side for so long.I always hoped I would be the one to kill you.”

“Now’s your chance, I suppose,” you mutter, and immediately launch into an attack.Asriel doesn’t even bother dodging - the cocky bastard - but takes it without flinching.He steps forward and unleashes an attack of his own.

You use your blue magic to push a table in the way, and it bursts into flames the moment his attack touches it.You push again and send it careening towards him.Asriel just grins and holds up a hand, encasing the table in his own magic and sending it back at you.You duck to the side but it catches your arm and you fall on your ass.

You spend your turn trying to keep your clothes from being on fire.Asriel grabs you by the front of your shirt and slams you against the wall.You manage to pull your legs up and kick him, but he doesn’t even flinch.

You try again, this time with fire, and he drops you.Before you can get to your feet, he pushes you onto your face and pins your arms behind your back.

“Gredna, hand me your cuffs,” he says, and the monster in question takes a few very timid steps toward you.“Relax,” he continues.“It can’t do anything like this.”The monster finally gets close enough to give him a pair of handcuffs.

You struggle.You create as much fire as you can and push it outward.Asriel pins your hands together and locks the cuffs around them.

Your fire suddenly dissipates.Your wrists burn.

Asriel laughs.

* * *

[Frisk]

Sans comes back before Chara.

He knocks on the wall with his standard greeting, “knock knock,” and you decide not to dignify it with a response.

“come on kid,” he insists, “you’ve heard these jokes enough times to know how this goes.knock knock.”

You curl farther into yourself against the wall and continue to say nothing.

“not in the mood for jokes, then.alright.”You hear shuffling and you guess he’s sitting down on the other side of the wall.

“Chara’s not coming back, are they.”You say it more like an accusation than a question, which is fair because that’s closer to how you mean it.

Sans is silent for a long moment before he replies, “no.”

You sniffle once, and suddenly you can’t hold back your tears anymore.You clench your fists and try not to be too loud.You keep your face buried in your knees even when you can barely breathe and your eyes burn and your knees feel hot.You take a breath and try to control it, but only make it worse.

Chara isn’t coming back.They’re not _ever_ coming back, because they decided you were more important than them.You never wanted anyone to get hurt because of you, but Chara let themself get _killed_ because of you and you did nothing to stop them.

Chara died and you did nothing.

“so, uh,” Sans’s voice comes through the wall again, sounding more than a little uncomfortable.“the others are gonna be pretty busy.the king wants chara taken to the castle alive, so this place should clear out within a few days.should be safe to come out after that.”

You sniffle again and manage to control your breathing somewhat.“Alive?”

“uh.yeah.they’re uh, not dead yet.”

You pull yourself upright and wipe your face on your sleeve.“How long until they are?”

“i dunno.if i had to guess i’d say... five or six hours?it depends on a lot of things.”

Five or six hours... that’s plenty of time to catch up with them.You’ve gotten through the Ruins in half an hour easily - the underground can’t be _that_ big.

You stand up and look at what’s left of the pile of rations.You promised Chara you would stay here until you ran out.

On the other hand, Chara promised you they would come back.

“kid, i swear to GOD if you’re thinkin’ of going after them...”

“They... they kept their promise, right?Papyrus is okay?”

Sans takes a second to respond.“how did you know about that.”

“I was awake when you had that conversation.I heard everything.”You take a deep breath and sit down.“I know what they were planning.”You wait for Sans to say something, but he doesn’t.“Papyrus is okay, right?”

Sans sighs.“better than ‘ok,’ really,” he mutters.

“So you have to keep me safe, right?And I’m still running out of food...”

“no, NO.i’m not helping you with this.i said i’d do what i _can_.that don’t mean getting myself killed on account of you.”

“I’m doing this whether you help me or not.”

Sans is quiet for a moment.“i thought you cared about chara.you’re really gonna do this to ‘em?”

“I’m going to save them.”

“you’re going to get yourself killed along _with_ them.i’m not sayin’ i agree with what they did, but this is just gonna make it worse.you’re just gonna make it so they die for nothing.”

“If...” you stand up again, “If the king wants a human so bad, he can have ME.I won’t let Chara get hurt protecting me.”

“chara _already_ got hurt protecting you.there’s nothing you can do for them now.”

“How would you feel if PAPYRUS did this?”

Sans says nothing.

“I... I know you know what it’s like to care about someone!I know you wouldn’t just stand by and let him get killed!Even...” you sniffle, your face starting to feel hot again, “even if you’re right, and I can’t help them... I could never live with myself if I don’t try.”

“kid...”You wipe your face and wait for him to finish.“chara’s my friend too, ya know.i get that this is hard, but...”

“You’re not going to change my mind.”

After a moment, Sans sighs.“i know.”

* * *

[Chara]

Asriel leads you through the underground and you take the silence as an opportunity to collect your thoughts.You didn’t count on running into him.There’s still a chance that this is just an act, and it won’t be so bad once you get to the castle.You decide not to get your hopes up.Even if he doesn’t want to hurt you, he’s going to have to kill you anyway.

You’re the last one he needs, after all.

One of the guards pokes you in the back with their sword in an unspoken command to go faster.You’ll gain nothing from fighting them, so you try to comply.Asriel hasn’t turned to look at you since you got out of the Ruins - and you’re almost to Waterfall now.

“So have you told them?” you ask, and you think you see him tense.

“Told who?” he asks.

“I dunno, everyone?Anyone?”

You wait for him to answer.He doesn’t.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’ then.”You grin and turn to look at the guard holding their sword to your back.“Hey, you wanna hear the story about how Azzy and I know each other?”

Before the guard can respond, Asriel turns around and hits you across the face, claws out.You wince from the pain - he barely missed your eye - but you don’t let yourself relax your grin.“Don’t call me that,” says Asriel.

You force yourself to laugh.“Or what?You’re already going to kill me.”

Your grin falls of its own accord when Asriel bursts into laughter.“Hahaha - oh Chara,” he steps toward you, a grin stretched wide across his face.“You’ll be _begging_ me to kill you by the time we’re through.”

For a second, you forget to breathe.Asriel turns and keeps walking, and the guard pokes you again before you can bring yourself to follow.You close your eyes and try to stay calm.You try to remember why you’re here.

It’s alright.It’s going to be alright.Frisk is safe.

It doesn’t matter what happens to you as long as Frisk is safe.

A voice comes from behind you, distant but getting closer.“Your highness!Captain Undyne!”

Asriel turns, along with one of the guards.The monster gets close enough to speak normally and leans on their knees for support.“There’s another human!”

Your heart stops.

“There’s another human in the ruins,” the monster repeats.

“Well what are you standing around for?” says Asriel.

“Wait,” you hear yourself say.

“Undyne, Gredna, Hyrne, go after them.”

“WAIT!” you shout, and suddenly all eyes are on you.“You... you already have me, you don’t need them - please!”

Asriel steps toward you and you tense up instinctively.

You force yourself to meet his eyes.“I’ll do whatever you want please just leave them alone they’re not a threat to you Azzy _please.”_

After a moment of consideration, Asriel smiles.“You’re going to do whatever I want anyway,” he says, and turns to face the guards.“Actually, I want this other human _alive_.”

“N-no,” you whisper.He grabs your arm and starts pulling you along the path.“No.”You pull uselessly against him.The guards start down the path in the other direction.“NO!”

Asriel yanks your arm until you almost fall.You continue to struggle, for no good reason.You shout profanities at the guards as they leave.Asriel covers your mouth with his hand to shut you up.

It’s not enough to keep you from crying.

* * *

[Frisk]

You sit crosslegged in the snow behind one of the larger trees while you wait for the guards to pass.The phone Sans gave you buzzes softly and you pull it out.

*only one left. get ready to move.

You stand up and stretch silently.The phone buzzes again.

*Don’t go yet!!

It isn’t Sans’ number.You text back.

*I wasn’t going to.  
*Who is this?

*Who I am isn’t important.

*You’re right.I have another, more important question.  
*Are you watching me??

*Yes?  
*Look don’t worry I’m on your side.

*Then why won’t you tell me your name?

*Ugh!Fine!  
*It’s Alphys.

You try to think if you remember having heard that name before.You don’t.

*How did you get this number, how are you watching me, and why should I believe a word you say.

*You’re awfully perceptive for a human...

*Have you MET any other humans?

*Actually!I have!  
*I’m the royal scientist, I’m watching you through cameras, and Sans is a friend of mine.  
*And by that I mean I owe him a favor.  
*Which he is calling in, because of you.  
*Why exactly does he care if you die??

You start to type a reply, but the phone buzzes with a text from Sans.

*go now.

You pocket the phone and head down the path as quickly and quietly as you can.

* * *

[Chara]

Asriel brings you to the throne room, where he trades your magic-blocking handcuffs for a magic-blocking collar and binds your hands in front of you with ordinary MTT-brand handcuffs.He then attaches those to the wall in the corner of the room, forcing your hands above you.He pulls the leash upward to force you to look at him.

He’s grown.He’s always been taller than you, but your head is now barely at the height of his chest.His horns finally grew in - curling into themselves the way Asgore’s did.He’s an adult now.You can’t help but chuckle a little at the prospect.

He frowns when you laugh, still taking in how much _you’ve_ changed, and then his expression hardens.“Something funny?”

“Just the idea of you masquerading as a functional adult.”

Suddenly, you feel his claws on your shoulder, too close to your neck.He gets his face too close to yours and growls, “Care to repeat that?”

You’re in too much pain to laugh, so you glare at him instead.He actually waits for you to speak, so you do something you know you’re going to regret.

You spit on his face.

Asriel recoils and takes a chunk of your shoulder with him.You wince and pull instinctively against the cuffs, which dig into your hands and you’re sure they’re starting to bleed.Nevertheless, you grin when you look back up and see him wiping his face on his sleeve.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” you laugh.

Asriel cuts you off with a fireball to the gut.

* * *

When your knees finally give out, Asriel stops hitting you long enough to detach the cuffs from the wall.You collapse at his feet, barely able to lift your head, struggling to breathe.Everything hurts.

Asriel steps back to look at you and you gather your strength to glare back at him.He’s still smiling.

He sits down, crosslegged, in front of you.You push yourself against the wall - as far away from him as you can get.He leans back on his hands and says, “Tell me about this other human.”

You bare your pathetic human teeth and growl at him.He laughs.

“They must mean a lot to you,” he continues.“You sounded so _desperate_ back there.Did you give yourself up to protect them?”He waits for you to answer.You don’t.“Oh that’s just delicious.Let me guess - is it a lover?”

“They’re just a kid,” you whisper, and your voice sounds so weak you’re almost embarrassed.“They’re just a _kid_ , Asriel.They don’t deserve this.”

“It never crossed my mind that they did,” he replies flippantly.“ _They’re_ not the one I want to hurt.Haha,” he pulls up on your collar again.You refuse to meet his eyes.“What better way to hurt someone than to kill the person they love most in front of them?”

“ _They don’t deserve this,_ Azzy.Take it out on me, be mad at me, I _get_ it but please.Please if... if all that time in the Ruins meant _anything_ to you-”

“Here’s an idea - maybe I’ll let _you_ kill them.”

On pure instinct, you look up at him.He grins back at you.“W-what?”

He shrugs, “I mean, if I’M the one to do it - you know it’s gonna hurt like a _bitch_.”His grin widens.“Maybe, since all that time in the Ruins meant _so much_ to me, I’ll give you a chance to grant them a quick death!”

You can’t speak.You can barely breathe.Your hands shake.Asriel places a hand on your head and says, “Think about it.I wonder which you’ll decide is worse.”

He laughs and stands up, yanking on your collar until you struggle to your feet.

“In the meantime, we have a _lot_ of catching up to do.”

* * *

[Frisk]

*Good news!  
*King Asriel decided to keep them alive until you get here.  
*So there’s no need to hurry!Just focus on not dying!

*Why is he waiting??

*Erm.  
*Don’t worry about it.

You glare down at your phone, but you doubt you’ll get a straight answer out of her now.You text Sans instead.

*Are you sure we can trust Alphys?

*kid, alph would not know i was helping you if i wasn’t completely sure we can trust her.

*She said the king isn’t going to kill Chara until I get there but she won’t tell me why.

*oh its because he wants to kill you in front of them.

You stare at your phone for a good thirty seconds trying to process that.Sans texts again before you can.

*can’t do that if they’re dead.  
*now keep moving, you’re almost at the town and you do NOT want to be out here after dark.

* * *

[Chara]

“Your highness?”

Asriel redirects his attention away from you and you allow yourself to relax as much as you can.It’s hard to hear what’s going on, but you try to focus on his conversation.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news regarding the other human.”

“Yes?”

The other monster hesitates until Asriel speaks again.

“Well?Spit it out, I don’t have all day.”

“We have no idea where it is.”

Asriel growls and you barely have time to flinch before he hits you again.

“Find it!” he yells, and the monster mumbles something and scurries out of the room.

* * *

_You curl up in the corner of the basement, shivering from the cold and trying unsuccessfully to dry your face on your arm.You’re hungry and thirsty and everything hurts.You can’t even sleep - not really.Not here.The door opens and you tense.You hear footsteps approaching and your throat threatens to make you cry again._

_“I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” says Asgore._

_You nod, unsure if you’re allowed to speak.Asgore takes your leash and pulls up on it.You stand, still shaking, and follow him up the steps into the living room.“They’re all yours,” he says, and you notice Toriel’s presence for the first time._

_You follow her into her room and she closes the door behind you before sitting on the floor and motioning for you to follow.You obey._

_“I’m sorry,” you whisper when she doesn’t speak first._

_She doesn’t say anything in response, but ruffles your hair with her free hand.It’s a gesture you’re still not sure how to interpret, but you know it doesn’t mean she’s angry, so you let yourself relax a bit._

_“Let’s try it again, shall we?” she asks.It isn’t a question._

_You take a deep breath and offer her your hands._

* * *

_“And now you add the sugar - yes, just like that.” Toriel runs a hand through your hair and watches you stir the batter. It’s a little unwieldy, but you’re starting to get used to blue magic, so you can hold the bowl in place while using both hands to hold the spoon._

_“By the way,” she says after a minute, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”_

_You look up and wait for her to continue._

_“What is your name?”_

_Your hands go still over the bowl.You... you hadn’t even thought about that.Toriel and the others had simply called you ‘human’ for so long._

_But you had a name.You HAVE a name.You picked it yourself - but nobody on the surface ever used it either.And now Toriel... is she really going to use it?_

_“Erm... are you alright?” she asks, suddenly sounding concerned.“You do not have to answer if...”_

_“It’s Chara.”You laugh, noticing now that your eyes are wet.You dry them on your sleeve and smile back up at her.“My name is Chara.”_

* * *

[Frisk]

You didn’t count on finding Papyrus on the other side of Snowdin.

Chara would tell you to fight back, but you can’t.Even if it wasn’t for him being the brother of the only person you know is on your side, you can’t.

You try to run.You try to dodge and run past him.You talk endlessly and nothing you say gets through to him.Slowly, you start to run out of healing items.

A bone collides with your leg and you fall, barely managing to dodge the rest of his attack.You try to stand up and fall again.You hear Papyrus laugh.

He says something you don’t hear and you crawl backward on your remaining limbs as he readies his final attack.Your hands are numb in the snow.Everything hurts.

“Please,” you hear yourself say, “you don’t have to do this.”

Your vision blurs.You don’t know what he says in reply.The bones he summoned start to inch towards you and you brace yourself.

“sorry, bro.”

A wall of bones appears between you and Papyrus.You hear shouting on the other side.This is your chance to run.

You try to stand up.

You collapse back into the snow.

The shouting continues.

You struggle to stay awake.

* * *

The first thing you become aware of is that it’s warm.

Your injuries still ache slightly under the weight of a blanket.You’re on a... a bed?No.

You open your eyes and find that you’re curled up in a dog bed.Your wounds have been healed with magic, you think, because it’s nothing compared to how much they hurt before you passed out.You sit up, wrapping the blanket around yourself, and take a look around.

There’s a dog bowl on the floor with little brown pellets in it, a bone on the floor that looks like it might actually just be a squeaky toy, and a handwritten note.You reach for the note without standing up and just barely manage to reach it.

HUMAN-

IT SEEMS THERE HAS BEEN A MISUNDERSTANDING.PLEASE WAIT HERE UNTIL IT IS RESOLVED.

DO NOT TRY TO ESCAPE.

-PAPYRUS

ps- seriously dont

-sans

* * *

[Chara]

_You wake up on a cold stone floor.You blink a few times and try to get your bearings.Your arm hurts from where you scraped it when you fell.You remember... you think you remember someone finding you after you called out.You must have passed out again._

_You’re in a small, dark room with only one door, which is up a massive flight of stairs.You take a deep breath and sit up._

_All at once you notice the heavy metal collar around your neck._

_You grab it instinctively and try to pull it off.You can feel where the hinge is, and where it should open, but you think it only works with a key.It’s connected to a chain, which you follow with your hands until you see where it attaches to the wall.It only reaches a few feet._

_You grab the chain and pull it, hoping to dislodge it from the wall, somehow.It holds firm._

_You try again._

_Suddenly, the door at the top of the stairs opens with a creak.You turn, backing up against the wall, still holding the chain in one hand._

_The figure in the door is silhouetted, but distinctly non-human.It steps inside and another follows it.You pull against the chain in your attempt to back away._

_“You’re awake,” says one of the monsters, and you nod slowly.She (you think it’s a she) crosses the room and you can’t stop yourself from flinching and raising your arms to cover your face._

_The monster stops a few feet away from you and places something on the ground.You look up in time to watch both of them leave._

_You have to lie awkwardly on the ground and reach out with your foot to obtain the thing she’d left, which turns out to be a bowl with some kind of soup in it.She didn’t provide a spoon or anything, so you end up drinking it straight from the bowl.It tastes awful, but you were starving and there’s nowhere down here you could hide any of it for later._

_You curl up in the corner, or as close to the corner as you can get, and prod absently at the collar.You try not to think about what this means - what they want from you, what happens next..._

_You try not to wonder if you’ll ever leave this room again._

_You hear something on the other side of the door - an argument you can just make out the words of._

_“That’s out of the question, Toriel.It’s human!It’s too dangerous to keep alive.”_

_You shudder into your knees and try to stop yourself from crying so you can hear._

_“They are a CHILD.They are wounded and terrified and defenseless.What exactly do you expect we have to fear from them?”It’s the voice from before.She sounds angry._

_“Children grow up, Tori.We have our OWN child to think of.We cannot let it remain in the underground until it’s strong enough to cause harm.”_

_“Then we’ll find the barrier and send them back!”_

_“So it can return with a hundred other humans behind it?”_

_The door opens before she responds, and the taller monster descends, walking straight towards you with an expression of pure rage on his face._

_“This is the only way,” he says._

_You can’t move._

_The other monster stops him with a hand on his shoulder.“For god’s sake, Asgore, THINK about what you’re doing.”_

_“I AM thinking.”_

_There’s a half second of silence and you use it to make yourself heard.“Please don’t kill me.”_

_“You stay out of this,” shouts Asgore before turning back to Toriel, whose eyes don’t move from you._

_“P-please,” you continue quietly, “I’ll d- I’ll do anything.Anything you want, p-please-”_

_“Shut UP,” Asgore yells, and your tears refuse to be held back any longer.You bury your face in your knees and sob as the argument continues around you._

* * *

You’re not sure whether the basement always smelled like this.

You try to ignore it, but it’s hard when you’re actively trying to breathe through your nose so your mouth doesn’t dry out as quickly.You wonder how long it’s going to take for Asriel to realize you’ll die if he never gives you water.

Regardless, you’re bound in a way that you’re sure is 90% to keep you from sleeping, which means he’s gone to bed.Your arms are already starting to hurt, stretched out against the wall, and you try to ignore it.

Which brings you back to the smell.

You sigh and decide to come up with something to think about.It’s going to be a long night - you’ll have all the time in the world to worry about how much everything hurts.

You won’t be this cognizant for much longer.

Your mind drifts against your will to what he said before about Frisk - that he wanted you to kill them yourself.

He’s right - a quick death, no matter what the circumstances are, would sure as hell be better than whatever he has in mind.On the other hand, the first thought that comes to mind is that Frisk would never forgive you.

Immediately followed by _of course they’d never forgive you; they’d be dead._

You sigh.This stupid plan of yours was supposed to keep them safe.That was the whole point - the only point.

Sans was supposed to keep them safe.

The door opens and Asriel trots down the steps.He approaches you and stands back a bit, staring.You glare back up at him, unable do to anything else.

“I thought you had gone to bed,” you say eventually.

Asriel shrugs and closes the remaining distance between you.“I changed my mind.”

“About what?”

He starts undoing the cuffs around your wrists.“I think I _will_ let you sleep tonight.I don’t want you delirious in the morning.”

You try to stop yourself from being grateful.“If you don’t want me delirious,” you say instead, “water would help.”

Asriel hums thoughtfully and undoes the rest of your restraints, save the collar, which remains secured to the wall.“You can have some in the morning,” he says, before standing up and leaving.

Sleep still doesn’t come easily - it never does, no matter how comfortable or exhausted you are - but eventually you manage to drift off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Graphic violence  
> \- Lots of discussion and mentions of death, including child death  
> \- Attempted suicide-by-proxy  
> \- Physical and verbal abuse (of both adult and child Chara)  
> \- The collar graduates into present day
> 
> With this we're halfway through by chapter count! I kinda feel like I should have some Words to mark the occasion, but I've had a Long Day and can't really think of anything. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did an art for this story! I'm too lazy to find the html for a link so I'm just gonna copy/paste the url:  
> quantumfeat72.tumblr.com/post/190334654558

[Frisk]

*Hey, random question.

*What is it, Alphys?

*If, hypothetically, I could get a message to Chara from you,  
*What would you want me to tell them?

You have to think about it.This doesn’t really sound like a hypothetical, but you’re not sure what you could possibly say to them now.‘Sorry I ignored you and went on a suicide mission to save your life’ doesn’t really cut it.Just ‘sorry’ would be too ambiguous and probably make them feel bad.You wonder how Alphys is planning on talking to them at all.She probably phrased it as a hypothetical because she isn’t sure it’ll work.You sigh and finish off the breakfast spaghetti Papyrus brought you.

It’s possible this is your last chance to tell Chara anything at all.

*“Thank you.”

*...  
*Ok, got it.  
*Is... that all?

*What do you expect me to say?  
*If you tell them we’re coming to get them out they’ll know I was lying when I promised to stay put.  
*And “I love you” sounds made up so if they don’t trust you, which they won’t, they’ll think it wasn’t even me.

*Okay, okay, I get it.  
*But are you sure you don’t want to tell them we’re coming?  
*I mean, they probably already know you’re out of the ruins.  
*It might be comforting to know you have a plan.

*I don’t have a plan.

* * *

[Chara]

“I expected this from your brother,” says Asriel cooly, leaning back in his throne and, for the moment, pretending you aren’t there.You lean against the wall and try to decide whether it’s worth it to say something.“But you, Papyrus?Of all people...”

“IT’S ONLY A SUGGESTION, YOUR HIGHNESS,” he replies, looking uncomfortable.

“A suggestion,” Asriel repeats.

“YES.”

“You’re wasting your time,” you say from your corner.Papyrus looks at you quizzically and you grin back at him, as much as you can.“Can you think of a single instance of this idiot listening to anyone besides himself?”

Asriel stands up and turns around to glare at you.“Did I give you permission to _speak_ , human?”

“You’re not sure?”You laugh - you thought of that comeback years ago and it feels amazing to finally use it.Asriel summons a fireball and sends it your way without moving from his spot.You have time to brace yourself before it hits, but it still takes your breath out of your lungs and sets parts of your clothes on fire.

You instinctively try to put it out with magic, activating the magic-blocking collar.You bite your tongue to keep yourself from screaming.

Tastes like blood.

* * *

Asriel takes your clothes from you.

You refuse to care.The point of this can only be to humiliate you, and you refuse to give him the satisfaction of succeeding.You wonder for a bit if he’s just going to give you those stupid clothes they made you wear back then, but he doesn’t.

He takes your clothes and ties you to his bed and for a terrifying few minutes you think you know where this is going.He just smiles down at you and you glare back at him, but it probably loses its bite from the way your hands are shaking and you flinch a little every time he moves.

But instead he turns and leaves the room briefly, and returns with a short yellow lizard monster wearing a white lab coat.

* * *

_You can’t move.There are no chains or ropes or straps holding you down, but your limbs refuse to move.Everything is blue.It hurts to breathe._

* * *

Your stomach sinks like a brick.Your pulse goes fast.You start breathing in harsh, painful gulps.You pull fruitlessly at the ropes.Some part of your consciousness tells you that this is stupid, why are you more afraid of this stranger than you are of Asriel, what’s wrong with you.Why can’t you remember.

* * *

_You can’t blink.You can’t pull away.You can’t see you can’t hear you can’tm o v e._

* * *

“A-are you alright?”

You become aware that you’ve screwed your eyes shut and started pulling up on the ropes so they dig into your skin.The pain helps bring you back, and you try to steady your breathing.

“Um, h-hello?”

You force yourself to open your eyes and look at the short yellow scientist standing awkwardly next to you.Asriel walks up next to her.

“This is Dr. Alphys,” he says, “The royal scientist.I’ve asked her to make sure you don’t die too quickly on me.”

You close your eyes again and maneuver your hands so you can flip him off.Suddenly his claws dig into your chest, too close to your neck, and he growls at you from inches away.You keep your eyes shut, silently daring him to kill you.

“You are going to do WHATEVER Dr. Alphys tells you, understand?” he growls, and you open your eyes in order to glare back up at him.

He raises an arm in preparation of some kind of magic, but Alphys interrupts before he can finish.“Um, Y-your highness?”

“What?” he barks, turning his attention away from you.

“Um, I w-won't...” she swallows and keeps going.“I won’t _need_ their cooperation for most of this.There’s, u-um, no need t-to...”

She trails off, and there's a moment of tense silence while Asriel stares at her from the bed.His claws are still embedded in your chest, and his grip isn’t loosening...

“Fine,” you whisper, and his attention snaps back to you.“I’ll do anything she asks, whatever, just get off of me.”

Asriel releases his grip and steps off the bed, looking surprised and a little confused.He walks to the door and addresses Alphys before leaving.“Come find me if they try anything.”

“I-I will,” she replies, watching him leave before turning back to you.

You look away and brace yourself, trying not to be embarrassed, hoping whatever she’s about to do won’t hurt too much.Alphys walks up to you silently and you hear her place her bag on the floor and rummage through it.

“Your name is Chara, right?” she asks, and you look back at her in surprise.

“Asriel told you?”

“Uh, n-no.Actually,” she trails off, apparently having noticed something, and suddenly one of her hands is on your side, lifting up so she can get a better look at one of your wounds.“I think this one’s infected,” she mutters, and grabs something out of her bag.“Th-this is going to sting a bit.”

You shut your eyes, grateful for the warning, and she covers it in something that smells vaguely of alcohol.It doesn’t hurt as much as you’d expected.You think about asking again how she knew your name, but decide it might be best not to distract her.

Several minutes pass while she cleans and dresses most of your wounds, consistently announcing it every time it’s going to hurt - something you’d never even considered might be as comforting as it is.You watch her face while she works, wondering how she learned to do this.

Your mind suddenly goes back to the six children you’d sent out here on their own.

Alphys interrupts your train of thought when she says, not looking up at you, “I’m a friend of Sans’.”

Your mind goes blank for half a second before it remembers everything.Sans told this person about you.Your first question is if she’s the only one, but you decide not to ask.

“I’ve, u-um...” Alphys continues, seeming to take your delay for a non-answer.“I’ve m-met Frisk.They’re, um, d-doing alright, so far.”

She looks up at your face now.You meet her eyes and wait for her to continue.

“And, u-um, they asked me to tell you something.They said, ‘thank you.’”

You have to look away to keep yourself from tearing up.“For what?” you ask.

“I don’t know.They d-didn’t, um, specify.”

You sigh.“That sounds like Frisk.”

You briefly consider asking her to bring Frisk a message in turn, but you don’t have anything to say.You already said goodbye back in the ruins, even if they couldn’t know it was goodbye then.You want to tell them something that will keep them alive, but if they were found in that perfect little hiding spot back home, there’s no way...

“We’re going to get you out of here,” whispers Alphys.You look back up at her and she doesn’t meet your eyes, instead staring intently at the wound she was cleaning.

“You and what army?” you whisper back.

“S-sans and Frisk!A-and, um, Papyrus, if today goes well.”

“Four people against the entire god damn Royal Guard.What the hell are you _thinking_?”

“W-we’re working on a plan!We’ll f-find a way.”

“Please don’t.”

“W-what?”Alphys goes still, finally meeting your eyes.You stare back at her and force yourself to continue.

“I don’t care what happens to me.Just get Frisk somewhere safe.Please don’t let them do this.”

Alphys lets out a breath she was holding and goes back to dressing your wounds.Seconds pass one at a time.“W-we’ll find a way.It’s g-going to be alright.We can help you.”

“If you want to help me, kill me.”

“Wh-what?”Alphys barely breathes the word.Her eyes go wide.Her skin turns a lighter shade of yellow.

You swallow and keep going, stubbornly refusing to let yourself cry.“If I’m gone he won’t have any reason to hurt them, and they won’t have any reason to come here.Th-there’s got to be some way to do it without Asriel knowing it was you.Some kind of poison that takes a while to act, or...” you pause for breath, but don’t give Alphys time to interject.“Or something, and you can tell him it was some mysterious human illness that’s incurable and there’s nothing you could have done s-so...”You run out of words and look back at her.

She’s crying.Actual tears are trickling silently down her face.Her breathing is quiet.You have to push back your own tears again, so you close your eyes and look away.

“Please kill me.”

* * *

[Frisk]

“huh,” Sans looks over the notes you and Papyrus wrote out and glances back up at you.“this might actually _work_ ,” he says, sounding surprised.

“NYEH HEH HEH,” Papyrus bellows, and you manage to keep from covering your ears this time.“OF COURSE IT WILL WORK!ANY PLAN CONCOCTED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS BOUND TO BE SUCCESSFUL!”

“heh, i knew i could count on you tibia our strategist.”Sans winks.Papyrus groans at the pun and rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling.“but kid, are you sure you’re okay with bein’ the distraction?chara’s gonna kill me if we live through this and they find out i went along with this plan.”

“Nobody else can do it,” you tell him.“I’ll be okay.”

“if you’re sure.”

* * *

[Chara]

Seconds pass like hours.You can’t hear Alphys breathing, and you daren’t open your eyes to look at her.You pull idly at the ropes to stop yourself from thinking too hard about this.A part of you hopes she’ll say no and you hate yourself for it.You can’t put Frisk in danger just to buy yourself another day or two.You can’t let Frisk come after you, not if you have the power to stop them.

But you don’t.Alphys does.Sans does.You take a breath to curse him under, because the bastard swore he would protect them and you held up your end.

Alphys shuffles around in her bag and you flinch a little at the sudden noise.She goes silent again, and another moment passes before she speaks.

“I c-can’t.I’m sorry.”

* * *

_The first time they let you out of the basement you can’t stop looking at everything.You drink in the new sounds, sights, smells, even just from the few rooms of the house you’re allowed into.They constantly have to remind you to mind your gaze - it’s rude to stare - but it doesn’t really sink in until they threaten to bring you back to the basement if you don’t behave._

_Toriel lets you sleep in her room that night, and Asgore insists on attaching your collar and chain to the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room from her bed.Once she convinces him to stop worrying and leave, she turns out the light and you rest against the corner and try to get comfortable enough to sleep.You notice after a second that Toriel hasn’t walked back to her bed yet, and you glance around to see that she’s standing less than three feet away from you._

_You push yourself backwards into the corner and fail to resist the urge to stare.She stares right back at you, expression neutral.As your eyes adjust to the dark, you search her face for any sign of what she wants.You want to ask, but they’ve already yelled at you a few times for speaking without permission.You don’t want to go back to the basement._

_You remember that you’re not supposed to stare and look down at your hands.You wait for Toriel to speak.She doesn’t.You start picking at your nails idly, pulling a hangnail out of your finger and hoping you’re not doing something wrong._

_Toriel takes a final step toward you and sits crosslegged on the floor.You hazard a glance at her face, but her expression hasn’t changed._

_After a moment, she lets out a breath and finally speaks._

_“I have a question for you,” she says.“You do not have to answer if you don’t want to.”_

_You nod silently.Toriel hesitates a bit more before continuing._

_“The other humans on the surface.Do any of them know you came to Mt. Ebott?”_

_You take a minute to think about it.At this point, you’re not even sure anyone knows you’re gone.Once they notice, you don't think they can figure out where you went.Not that they would care enough to try._

_So the answer is no.The next question is whether to lie._

_You know the monsters are scared of humanity.You could tell her that you’ve got friends or family who would come looking for you.You could make it sound like you could get them to stay away if they let you go._

_You look at Toriel and try to tell her that they’re coming for you, that you’ve got friends who could kill them all and they have to let you go unless they want another war and the words die in your throat the moment you see the fear in her eyes as she looks back down at you._

_You’ve never seen her afraid like that._

_You remember now that Toriel is a mother._

_You look back down at your hands.“No,” you tell her, and your eyes start to water.“I don’t...”You wipe your face on your sleeve and force yourself to keep going.“I don’t think they’ve even noticed I’m gone.”_

_You pull your knees to your chest and bury your face in them.You wait for Toriel to say something or go to bed, but instead she pulls you into a hug._

_It’s the first hug you’ve received in a long time.You’re just surprised at first, not sure what you’re supposed to do - are you allowed to hug her back?You try to look at her, but your neck is at a weird angle and you can’t turn your head.She shows no signs of pulling away.You decide to take your chances and raise your arms to hug her back._

_You can’t reach all the way around her, but you think she hugs you a little harder after you try._

_“I’m sorry,” she whispers.“I am so sorry, my child.”_

_“I don’t understand,” you whisper back.“Sorry for what?”_

_She hugs you even tighter.She sounds like she might be crying when she speaks again.“You didn’t deserve this.Any of this.I’m so, so sorry.”_

_It takes you a while to figure out how to speak again, and you’re not entirely sure why you do it when you say, “I’m dangerous.”_

_“What?” she asks, voice quiet, almost like she’s scared._

_“I’m dangerous,” you repeat.“That’s what they all said, even back on the surface.They said I’m dangerous and I shouldn’t be around other people.That’s why...”You sniffle, trying not to get Toriel’s nightgown wet.“Th-they wouldn’t take me back, you know.I... Even if you let me go, I can’t go back.”_

_Toriel pulls you a little closer and says nothing._

_“...I’m sorry,” you breathe.“I spoke out of turn again, didn’t I?”Your hands start to shake and when she pulls away you brace yourself, expecting some kind of punishment._

_“It’s alright,” she says, ruffling your hair gently.She stands up and starts to walk back to her bed.“Try to get some rest.”_

* * *

Asriel hands you the glass of water Alphys insisted he give you and you chug it as quickly as you can so he can’t change his mind.He’s given you clothes again - not the ones you had before, but a thin t-shirt and shorts similar to the ones you wore when you were little.You want to complain, because god damn it you’re not afraid of him anymore, but you think if you do he’ll just take them again and you decide it isn’t worth it.

“Have you made up your mind yet?” he asks, deciding you no longer have any use for your hands and binding them behind you.

“What do you mean?”

“My offer.”He stands up and pulls your collar until you follow, heading toward the throne room.“Do you accept?”

“...Right, your ‘offer’ to become the murderer of the one person I actually care about.”You start to say no, but the word dies in your throat when Asriel turns around to look at you.He’s grinning from ear to ear, like that’s exactly what he wants you to say, and you look back at the floor in front of you.“I haven’t decided.”

Asriel laughs and keeps walking.“There are no wrong answers, friend,” he sings.

* * *

[Frisk]

_The war of humans and monsters._

The stone plaque on the wall is weathered and faded, but you can just make out the words.

_In the end, it could hardly have been called a war.United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak.Not a single soul was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust._

You remember the stories they used to tell on the surface about monsters eating people, raiding villages, stealing souls.You doubt either version of this story is entirely true, but you start to wonder who embellished more.If monsters with human souls are as powerful as everyone seems to think, wouldn’t just one be able to kill at least a few humans on their own, and give the souls to other monsters and repeat the cycle?

Maybe they just aren’t that powerful.After all, Asriel won’t leave until he’s collected enough souls to break the barrier first.Maybe he thinks he’ll be killed if he goes up on his own.

On the other hand, maybe he’s just as sadistic as Chara claimed, and is doing it this way because he wants to.

You hear footsteps behind you in the cave - Undyne.

You keep moving.

* * *

[Chara]

‘I’m sorry.’That’s what you should have asked Alphys to tell Frisk.It’s your fault Asriel cares so much about them.It’s your fault they have any reason to come to him.You could have stayed quiet back in Waterfall when he first learned they were here.You could have acted surprised.You didn’t.

Asriel, no longer able to shirk his responsibilities for the sake of tormenting you, has simply left you chained to the wall in the throne room while he deals with various issues throughout the kingdom.He reminds you a little of Asgore, which you guess is a good thing.Asgore was the kind of king who people listened to because they thought he would lead them to prosperity.You’d assumed Asriel would be the kind of king who ruled through the threat of force alone.

You know you weren’t entirely wrong, based on what Sans told you through the door, but it’s oddly comforting to know he has a little of his father in him.

You wonder where Frisk is right now.Maybe they found a boat to get them past Waterfall?You hope so.On the other hand, you also hope they never get here at all.You don’t know what you’re hoping for.You sigh, pulling idly at the chains.

Your mind comes back to Asriel’s ‘offer.’You hate yourself a little for how hard this decision is for you.The right answer should be obvious, but it’s not.

You don’t want Frisk to die thinking you betrayed them.You don’t want their blood on your hands.You don’t want to play Asriel’s games.

You don’t want them to suffer.You don’t want to watch as Asriel tortures them to death.You don’t want to give him the satisfaction of hurting them.

You thought they were safe.

* * *

_Toriel teaches you how to use your magic to fight.You spend hours every day throwing attacks at the little dummy in the Ruins, and she gives you the same sort of gentle praise as when she’s teaching you to bake._

_After every lesson, she reminds you to only fight in self defense.You always promise to remember that, and she always believes you without hesitation._

* * *

“The human was spotted in Waterfall.”

You’re shaken from your thoughts by the guardswoman standing in front of Asriel.You look up at him to see that he’s leaning forward in his seat.“That’s good to hear,” he says.“I trust you can take care of it, Undyne.”

She nods and turns to leave, and you cough a little before speaking.“Hey Azzy, I’ll bet you fifty gold the kid makes it past her without getting caught.”

Undyne stops in the doorway and turns to look at you.

“I think you’d have to bet me something else,” replies Asriel cooly, “considering I already HAVE all your gold.”

“Regardless,” says Undyne, “It’s an idiotic bet.I won’t be killed by a human _child_.”

“I didn’t say that,” you laugh.“They’re gonna get past you without even fighting back.You’ll see.”

“You wanna say that to my FACE, punk?”She stomps toward you and you grin up at her.She isn’t nearly as intimidating as she wants to be.You refuse to be afraid of her.

“Undyne,” interrupts Asriel before you can aggravate her any more.“You have a job.Go do it.”He turns around to look at both of you.“I’ll deal with _this_ human.”

You stick your tongue out at him.Undyne kicks you in the gut and you double over, biting your lip to keep from screaming.You hear her walk out of the throne room, and Asriel walks up to you once she’s gone.

“Do I have to gag you?” he asks, as though it’s a genuine question.You glare back up at him and say nothing.“Because I will,” he continues, “if you pull that shit again.”

“I was telling the truth,” you mutter.“Kid’s the strongest person I’ve ever met.They won’t lose to someone like that.”

“That’s funny,” he says. “Then why are you so worried about what I’m gonna do to them once Undyne brings them here?”He digs a claw into your arm and starts dragging it downward and you wince and look away.“How’s this: if you’re right, I’ll let you eat breakfast tomorrow morning, and if I’m right, I’ll retract my offer.”His claw reaches your shoulder and he grabs your chin to force you to look at him.“How does that sound?”

“Deal.”

* * *

_“May I ask you something?”You whisper the words as quietly as you can while still knowing Toriel can hear you.She looks up from her book and you try to act like you haven’t been watching her read._

_“What is it?” she asks, and her voice isn’t hostile._

_You wring your hands together in your lap and try to gather the courage to ask.You take a deep breath.“How long...” you swallow and keep going.“H-how long are you going to... to let me live?”You force your hands to go still and wait, forcing yourself not to look up at her.You hear her shift in her seat._

_“I am not sure,” she admits.“If it was solely up to me, we would not kill you at all, but...”_

_You wipe your tears away with your sleeve and nod.“I understand,” you whisper, trying not to let your fear show in your voice.“Is... is there anything I can do to... um...”_

_“I don’t believe so,” Toriel sighs._

_You nod.“Thank you.”_

* * *

_“I have something for you,” says Toriel after waking you up one morning. You sit up and look at her, confused, as she places a box on the carpet where you had been sleeping. You stare at it cautiously, not sure what you’re supposed to do._

_“Is... is it some kind of holiday?” you ask, wondering what the gift could possibly be, and why on earth you’re receiving it._

_“No,” she replies.“It’s, erm...Just open it.”_

_You close your eyes for a second to remind yourself not to get your hopes up.You remove the lid with shaking hands and peer inside._

_It’s a collar and leash._

_You take it out of the box and turn it over in your hands.It looks like a normal dog collar, made of soft leather, except for the combination lock attached to the size adjustment, and the padlock connecting it to the leash._

_You can’t help but be disappointed, but you’re not sure what you were expecting.At least it isn’t a whip or something, and this looks a lot more comfortable than the metal collar you’re wearing now._

_“Thank you,” you say, looking back up at Toriel.She smiles and carefully removes the metal collar before fastening the leather one around your neck in its place.You force yourself to hold still and let her do it._

* * *

[Frisk]

Undyne collapses behind you and you stop running and turn around, panting.She glares up at you and pushes against the ground, shaking, unable to stand up.You can hear her breathing from where you are.

You walk carefully toward her and see beads of sweat all over her face.You look up and down the path.there’s no one around.There’s nothing you could use to cool her down.

You kneel and grab her arm and wrap it around your back before pulling upward.Undyne tries to pull away from you, but she’s too weak to do anything.You try to pull her back up the bridge, but you’re not strong enough.

She’d said it was her armor, before she collapsed, so you try to pull her armor off.You aren’t strong enough to do that, either.It hurts to touch.She’s going to burn alive if you can’t figure something out.

You grab her helmet from where she’d dropped it on the bridge and run back to Waterfall, fill it with water like a bucket, and dart back to Undyne.Some of the water evaporates before you get there, but you dump what’s left of it on her back.

“ACK!”Undyne jumps backwards, startled, and lands a few feet away from you.“What the hell did you do?” she demands, reaching to her back with her arms.

You take a step backward, holding the helmet close to your chest.“It’s just water,” you tell her.

She looks back at you and her breathing slows.After a moment, her expression hardens and she stands up and walks toward you.You turn heel and run back toward Waterfall, but she grabs your shoulder as soon as you’re past the bridge.

You turn and fall on your butt and push yourself backwards until you bump into the sentry station.Undyne walks up and crouches to get a better look at you.You meet her stare, trying not to betray your fear.

Undyne grabs her helmet out of your hands and walks away.

* * *

[Chara]

_“I have something for you!” says Toriel excitedly, and you roll over in bed to look up at her._

_“What time is it?” you ask, sitting up.It feels like the middle of the night._

_“Nearly seven,” replies Toriel, and she places a gift wrapped box on your bed.It’s wrapped in blue with a bright red bow, with a tag on it that reads ‘For Chara.’“Happy birthday!” declares Toriel, looking pleased with herself._

_You pull the box into your lap and examine it closely.“How did you know?”_

_“Erm,” Toriel sits down at the foot of your bed.“A few years ago, you sang the happy birthday song to yourself in the morning...”_

_“You heard that?”You look up at her and back down in quick succession.“I thought you were asleep.”_

_“Regardless!This is for you.Happy birthday, Chara.”_

_You smile at her and carefully tear off the wrapping paper and open the box.Inside is a simple, ancient cell phone._

* * *

The silence in the throne room is palpable after Undyne admits her defeat.You resist the urge to gloat - you’ll wait until she’s gone.You actually feel kind of bad for her.You know how humiliating this must be.

“I don’t believe this,” mutters Asriel.“Undyne, _you_?Of all people?”

Undyne doesn’t look up.

You decide to say something.“I wasn’t kidding, you know.I actually fought the kid myself once, and you can be damn sure I didn’t win.”

“I look forward to meeting them,” says Asriel.“Undyne, I have a favor to ask.”

Undyne says nothing, but looks up now.

“I have an errand to run tomorrow morning.I want you to keep an eye on _this_ human while I’m gone.”

“What?” says Undyne.

“WHAT?” you say.

“You heard me,” replies Asriel cooly.

“I don’t need a goddamn BABYSITTER, you sick fuck.What do you expect me to do, eat my way through my fucking CHAINS?”

Asriel laughs.“Normally you’d be right,” he says.“But considering I promised you breakfast if you won our little bet, someone has to be here to give it to you.”

“That’s bullshit.How long is this fucking errand of yours gonna take?”

“You’ll find out.Undyne, I expect to see you here at Nine AM tomorrow.”

Undyne scowls, but there's no malice in her voice when she nods and says“Yes, your highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Violence  
> \- Torture  
> \- Child abuse  
> \- Attempted suicide by proxy (again)  
> \- Rape mention kind of??? There's a scene toward the beginning that I'm not sure whether/how to warn for, but is the most vaguely sexual thing in this whole fic so uh, yeah?
> 
> (Unrelatedly, there's a lot I'd change in this chapter if I rewrote it but "You take a breath to curse him under" is a contender for my favorite line that I've ever written)


	8. Chapter 8

[Frisk]

“Y-your highness!” Alphys startles you awake from where she stands on the lower floor of her lab.It takes you a minute to process what she said, but before long you’ve crawled out of her bed and hidden under it.“U-um, to what do I owe the honor?” she continues.

“Just passing through, Alphys,” says the person you assume is King Asriel.

“Oh,” replies Alphys, relieved.“R-right, just through here then, s-sorry for the mess.”

Now that you know he’s not coming up here, you crawl out from under her bed and inch silently toward the railing at the edge of the top floor.The conveyor belt-type-thing is off, so you crouch and put your weight on it slowly until you can see the lower floor.

“That other human hasn’t come through here, have they?” asks Asriel, who you now know looks like some kind of goat person.

“Um, n-no.A-at least, I h-haven’t, um, seen them.”

“Well, keep an eye out.They must be on the move again by now.”

“O-of course, your highness.”

You peer after him through the railing as he leaves.You feel like you’ve seen him somewhere before.

* * *

[Chara]

“Wake up.”Undyne tosses a bucket of cold water on your face and you startle awake, pulling at the chains until it hurts and breathing in some of the water.

You bend over, coughing, and shivering, and Undyne crouches behind you and takes off your handcuffs.She steps back away as soon as she’s done, like she thinks you’re going to attack her.You rub at your wrists and stretch your arms in front of you, trying to ignore how sore they are.“Good morning to you, too,” you mutter.

“Whatever,” replies Undyne, and you look up when she drops a bowl of something on the ground and kicks it toward you.You barely manage to catch it before too much spills, and start eating right away in case she decides to ignore Asriel’s orders.

It’s oatmeal, you think, which is hilarious because Asriel hates oatmeal.He probably bought it specifically so he could give it to you.It’s almost sweet, if extremely annoying to eat without any silverware.

“That’s disgusting,” exclaims Undyne, who you realize is watching you.

You swallow and wipe some off your face before responding, “Why don’t _you_ try eating nothing for a week and see if you care about manners afterward.”

“A week?You’ve been here two days.”

“I got caught for a reason.”You take another bite before continuing, slowing down a bit now that you’re not too worried it’ll be taken away from you.“Had a perfect god damn hiding place, but I left to look for food ‘cause I’d run out five days before.”

“Does the king know that?” she asks, sitting down a good ten feet from you.

“Do you think he’d believe me if I told him?”You shrug.“He’s already gotten Dr. Alphys to come over once to make sure I don’t die.I’m sure she’ll recognize it once I start showing symptoms.”

There’s silence for a bit while you finish the bowl.When you’ve licked it clean, you place it back on the floor and scoot back to the wall so you can lean against it.“Did he tell you to keep me awake?” you ask.

“Yup,” replies Undyne, and you nod, resting your head on your knees but keeping your eyes open so she doesn’t feel the need to do anything.

“You were there, yeah?” you say.“Back in the Ruins.”

“Yeah,” she says.You nod.

“You didn’t have a chance to answer my question back then.”

“What question?”

“You wanna hear the story of how me and Azzy know each other?”You smile up at her, mostly expecting her to get angry at your insolence, but there’s genuine curiosity on her face when she looks back at you.“I promise not to tell him,” you add.“Lord knows I’d be in more trouble than you.”

“Shut up,” she says, looking down.“I’m not interested in anything you have to say.”

Her eyebrows are furrowed, her eye focused on the floor, but there’s no bite to her words.“How ‘bout I tell you anyway?” you ask.“It’ll help me stay awake.”

* * *

_“What does everyone think back in the capitol?” you ask Asriel, kneading the dough for a pie you decided to make together._

_“What do you mean?” he asks._

_“Do they think I’m dead, or...?”_

_“Oh.”He pauses in chopping the vegetables, looking contemplative.“When Mom came back she said you escaped.That you used your fire magic to get out.”_

_You hum thoughtfully, staring back at the dough.“Where do they think you keep going when you come here?”_

_Asriel shrugs.“Dad thinks I’m at school.I think my teacher thinks I’m at home.”_

_“...What’s it like?School.”_

_“Ugh, it’s awful.You’re lucky you don’t have to go.They make you read these awful books and write about what they meant.And you have to do MATH.Have you ever done math?”_

_“Um, like addition and subtraction.”_

_“I wish that was all I had to do.Hey, can you even read?I’ve never seen you try.”_

_You look down, kneading the dough a little harder.“A little.”_

_“I guess you never had the chance to learn, huh...”_

_“I learned a little, back on the surface.My parents taught me.”_

_“You had parents?” he asks, surprised._

_“Um, yeah?”_

_“No way.How come you came to mount Ebott, then?I always assumed you were an orphan.”_

_“...No.”You stop kneading and put the dough in the refrigerator to rest.“Sometimes I wish I was.”_

_“What?How come?”_

_You scowl and pick up a knife to start helping him with the veggies.“They weren’t GOOD parents.”You sigh.“They were the whole reason I left.It was awful.”_

_Asriel is silent for a moment, focusing on the rhythmic chopping.“Worse than us?”_

_You have to think about it.“I don’t know.I mean, they never...” you raise a hand to your throat, still half expecting to feel a collar there.“hurt me, like you did, but...” you swallow.“But at least there were no lies with you.My parents always lied.They tried to make me think they loved me, and they just wanted what was BEST for me.But they never actually did what was best for me.They only cared about themselves.At least...At least you had a reason for what you did.”_

_Asriel keeps chopping and says nothing._

_“I’m sorry,” you tell him, wiping your face on your sleeve and going back to your own work._

_“Do you regret it?” he asks.“Climbing Mt. Ebott.”_

_“No,” you reply immediately, and realize after a moment that he’s waiting for you to continue.“If I’d never left, I would never have met you, and we would never have been friends.”You smile up at him and he looks back at you._

_“Is that what we are?” he asks.“Friends?”_

_“Sure,” you say, before returning your gaze to your knife.“I mean, um...”Your hand goes still for a second.“Do you want us to be?”_

_Asriel keeps chopping for a bit before he responds, “...Yeah.Yeah, I like the sound of that.Friends.”_

* * *

“There’s no WAY that’s true,” Undyne intones, sitting up now and seeming incredibly invested in your story.

“My hand to God,” you say, “that’s exactly how it happened.I never escaped.Asriel knows my name, y’know.He used it back then, remember?It’s Chara.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“Maybe not,” you admit, “but I think it makes for a pretty convincing argument.”

“You’re just trying to get me on your side.”

“Nah, if I wanted you on my side I’d be asking you to kill me.You’re more loyal than that; I can tell.”

“The hell would you want me to kill you for?!”

You bury your face in your knees.“Maybe then that idiot kid wouldn’t be trying to save me.”

“Is that what they’re doing?”

“Probably.They’re too nice for their own good.”

“No kidding.They couldn’t just run without fighting back - they had to go to the trouble of _saving my life_.”

You actually laugh at that.“Oh my god, yup, that’s Frisk.”

“I almost feel bad for them.”Undyne relaxes against the wall and looks up at the ceiling.“Actually, you know what?I DO feel bad for them.They have no idea what they’re getting into.”

You hug your legs a little closer to your chest.“Hey, if you, uh.If you see them again, before I do, would you tell them something, from me?”

“Just ‘cause I feel bad for the little punk doesn’t mean I’m willing to play messenger for you.”

“Right, of course not.Never mind.”

Undyne looks back at you and thinks for a long moment.“What did you want me to tell them?”

You sigh and shrug.“That I’m sorry.It’s my fault Azzy’s so interested in them.He only wants them to get to me.”

“Way I see it,” she says contemplatively, “you just bought them a few extra days.”

“Ha,” you look back down at the stone floor of the basement.“Right, now instead of just getting stabbed or something, they’ll be _tortured_ to death over the course of _days._ ”Your hands start shaking and you laugh.

“I meant I would have WON that fight if the king had asked for them dead.”

You stop laughing, calming down by slow degrees.“Maybe.”

* * *

[Frisk]

*I know I’ve seen him somewhere before.

*why do you care?

*I don’t know, it just feels important.

Sans doesn’t text back right away, so you go back to trying to remember while you walk through Hotland.The more you think about it, the more sure you are.

*must’ve been a photo or something.did you have internet back in the ruins?

*No.  
*I can’t think of any pictures I saw either.  
*The only ones I ever saw were in Chara’s house...  
*Wait.

*what?

*Chara’s house, that’s where I saw him.  
*Er, the picture of him.  
*I remember now.Chara has a picture of themself and Asriel together when they were little.

*chara has  
*what?  
*that doesnt make any sense.

*I know what I saw!That must be why he’s so preoccupied with them.

*hate to break it to ya but i know why the kings preoccupied with chara and it aint cause they were buddies.  
*chara’s got a bit of a rep, actually  
*25 years ago they became the first and only human to ever escape the castle.  
*it was a huge mess, the royal family had everyone looking for em.  
*rumor has it the queen died on an expedition to find them.  
*aint hard to believe the king’s got a grudge over the death of his mother.

You stare at Sans’ words on your phone for a long time, not moving.The queen, Asriel’s mother...

*What was her name?

*who?

*The queen.

*why do you wanna know the queens name.  
*actually, you know what, nevermind.  
*her name was toriel.

*I knew it!This explains everything.

*what

*The monsters in the Ruins used to talk about her!They called her the rebel queen.

*what??

*She lived in the Ruins with Chara before the guard found them.  
*She must’ve brought Asriel with her!  
*This explains everything, oh my god.  
*I think...  
*I might be able to talk him down.

*i dont like where this is going.

*Just let me try!I’m already the distraction anyway.  
*This must just be some kind of misunderstanding.  
*Chara talked about Toriel and I can tell they really loved her.  
*There’s no way they had anything to do with her death.

*look i aint gonna stop you from trying  
*just be careful ok?people dont generally like it when strangers dig up their past.

*Don’t worry.I’ll be okay.

* * *

[Chara]

_You never get any sleep when you’re in Asriel’s room.Asgore ties your leash to the bedframe, just like in his room and Toriel’s room, but Asriel never seems interested in letting you sleep._

_He also doesn’t seem interested in sleeping himself, but that’s probably just because he can get away with sleeping in tomorrow morning._

_You don’t bother lying down, instead hugging your knees in the corner made by the bed and the wall.You’re exhausted, but you’d rather just not sleep than drift off only to be woken up again thirty seconds later._

_Asriel enters and makes his way toward you and you daren’t look up at him.He stands a few feet away from you for a bit and you take the opportunity to speak._

_“Please let me sleep tonight,” you whisper, knowing it won’t do any good._

_“Aw, come on,” he replies, closing the gap and kneeling to look at you.“We haven’t had a chance to play in weeks!I’ve been looking forward to this.”_

_You bury your face in your knees before replying, “I can’t sleep in the basement.I haven’t really slept since before...” you sniffle, holding back tears.“I’m so tired.Please, I’ll do anything you want tomorrow.Please let me sleep.”_

_Asriel pulls up on your leash and you yelp a little in surprise.He keeps pulling until you’re on your feet, and you notice for the first time that he’s borrowed the whip from the basement.“The problem with promising that,” he says, “is that you can’t refuse me tonight, either.”_

_You meet his eyes and he grins down at you.He releases the collar and you take a timid step backward, pressing your back against the wall.Your mind races for something to say in your defense, but the fog of your half-asleep brain comes up empty._

_There’s a chance he’ll go easy on you if you behave, so you shut your eyes and nod._

* * *

Muffet stands before Asriel, intending to collect on the gold she was promised for you.You’ve mostly tuned out their conversation, more concerned with finding a comfortable way to sit with your hands and ankles bound the way they are.(Asriel doesn’t think there _is_ a comfortable way to sit like this, which makes you all the more determined to find one.)

“Yes, yes,” mutters Asriel, interrupting whatever she’d been saying.“You’ll get your money.I just have a couple of questions first.”

“What sort of questions?”

“You told the guard that there was _one_ human in the Ruins when there were, in fact, _two_.Care to explain why that is?”

Muffet glances at you, not for the first time, before replying.“My spiders only knew about this one.”

“Bullshit,” you shout, as much as you _can_ shout.“They got all their food from _your_ bake sale before I took them in.”

“I suppose they neglected to mention it,” she replies before Asriel can comment.

He hums thoughtfully.“That other human was seen on the outskirts of Hotland.They’re heading toward your parlor, I think.You did bring me this human, and you _will_ be paid for that, but if you bring me the other one I’m thinking... double.”

Muffet grins and bows.“Consider it done.”

She turns to leave and you interrupt.“Hey spiderbitch.”

Muffet’s head swivels to look at you.Asriel groans.“Just ignore them.”

“I just have a question.”

Muffet says nothing, but you have her attention now.

“I heard you sold me out for just 500g.That true?”

“It is.”

“I could’ve given you _four times_ that.Did extortion really never cross your mind?”

Muffet walks up to you slowly and smiles down at you.“Oh, it did,” she says, leaning over you.“I thought it would be more fun this way.”She laughs then, cupping your chin in her claw-hand.“Your highness,” she adds, turning back to him without letting go, “When you’re done with them, could we have the body?There's a new recipe I’ve been _dying_ to try.”

Asriel, who’s now turned to look at you, smiles.“I don’t see why not.”

* * *

_“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Chara! Happy birthday to you!”_

_Asriel and Toriel finish singing and you blow out the candles on the pie.Toriel starts cutting it and Asriel immediately shoves a wrapped box in your face._

_Toriel laughs.“Asriel, I thought we agreed to eat first and then give them their present.”_

_“I don’t wanna wait!”_

_“Just give me thirty seconds," you tell him."I can DEVOUR this pie.”_

_Toriel places a slice in front of you.“Don’t make yourself sick, dear.”_

_“Mhm,” you reply, mouth already full._

_Asriel starts eating his own slice.“Well, what did you wish for?”_

_“I can’t tell you,” you object, “or it won’t come true!”_

_“Aw, come on!”He pokes your shoulder repeatedly to get your attention.“Tellmetellmetellme!”_

_You laugh and put your fork down so you don’t stab yourself by accident.“Okay, okay! I wished...” you drop your tone conspiratorially and whisper into his ear, “that we would stay friends forever and ever.”_

_“Aw, you didn’t!” Asreil laughs.“What a waste of a birthday wish.”He hands you the box again and you take it this time.“I mean, we were gonna be friends forever anyway, right?You should’ve wished for something cool, like an infinite pie!”_

_“I dunno,” you tell him, tearing into the gift.“I think you’re pretty cool.”_

* * *

“Remember these?”

Asriel dumps an unmarked cardboard box at your feet, apparently having fetched it during his ‘errand.’You glare down at it, wondering how he expects you to know what the hell he’s talking about.After a moment of looking smug, he kicks the box open and its contents spill onto the stone floor.

It’s the old box of child-sized chains and collars.

You stare at them openly, expression falling as you try in vain not to care.Asriel laughs.“I was surprised you kept them!Shame you’re too big for them now, but I bet they’ll fit your little friend.”

You try not to, but you imagine Frisk in that heavy metal collar, those cuffs around their wrists.You imagine them crying as Asriel subjects them to the same tortures you’ve endured.You can _see_ them bound to the wall of the basement, alone.Freezing.Starving. _Dying._ Somewhere, Asriel laughs.

“I’ll do it,” you hear yourself say before you can think it through.Asriel quiets and you close your eyes and lower your head.“I’ll do it,” you repeat.“I’ll kill them.”

* * *

[Frisk]

You pull uselessly on the web stuck to your wrists and try to stay away from the attacks Muffet sends at you.She laughs at you, humming and dancing at the top of her web.You try to talk her out of killing you, but she isn’t listening.You look to the other spiders for help, but you don’t recognize any of them.

“You don’t know?” says Muffet.“Spiders have been trapped in the Ruins for generations.Even if they go under the door, Snowdin’s fatal cold is impassable alone...”She looks a little wistful, taking her many eyes off of you for a second before initiating another attack.You nod in agreement, remembering Sans’ insistence that you find your shoes before venturing past the door.

“And... whatever the king offered you is enough to bring them here?” you ask.

“Well, no,” replies Muffet thoughtfully.“But it’s five hundred gold closer.”

“Is that all?”

Muffet starts to say something else, but is interrupted by a spider rushing to her side.You take a moment to catch your breath.

“Hm?A telegram from the spiders in the Ruins?They said that they saw you, and...”She trails off for a moment, reading and rereading the paper in her hands.“Oh my, that is a lot of money.”

* * *

[Chara]

_You stare down at the present Asriel gave you, lifting it gently out of the box.It’s a heart shaped locket with the words ‘best friends forever’ inscribed on it._

_“Open it!Open it!” says Asriel, bouncing up and down.You push the button and it opens, a photo of you and Asriel on the inside._

_“Oh my god,” you whisper._

_“I got one for me, too!”He pulls a matching pendant out from under his shirt.“So we match!”_

_He starts to say something else, but you cut him off with an aggressive hug.You’re holding back tears._

_“Haha...” Asriel hugs you back.“You like it?”_

_“I love it.I...”You sniffle, still refusing to let go of him.“Thank you.”_

_Asriel hugs you back without another word._

* * *

Sans enters the throne room and for a moment you regret having pissed Asriel off enough to gag you.He knocks on the wall a couple of times before entering the room proper, watching Asriel’s expression.“you called?” he asks.

“I did,” replies Asriel.“Come here.”

Sans complies, looking rather small in the vastness of the garden.You take a minute to get a good look at him - he’s shorter than you imagined.He doesn’t meet your eyes, and you wonder how much of that is because he’s in front of Asriel and how much is because he broke his promise.

Asriel continues.“I hate to resort to this, but I have a favor to ask of you.”

“whaddaya need?”Sans tries to sound relaxed, but you know him well enough to tell that he’s tense.He’s smiling rather convincingly, though, and Asriel doesn’t see through it.

“I think you can guess.”He sighs.“Since everyone else has failed to bring me that other human, I suppose I have no choice but to send you.”

“i’ll admit, i’m surprised it took ya this long.”

“I didn’t think it would be necessary.This other human is more of a pain than they’re worth, but I’ve invested too much to give up on this now.”

“i getcha,” says Sans, rocking back and forth on his heels.“though i hafta ask, why bother?”

“Pardon?”

“well, i’ve been keepin’ an eye on the kid.they’re headed straight for you.why not just wait ‘till they get here?”

“And give them time to enact whatever plan they have in mind?”

“heh, you’re assuming they HAVE a plan.”

Asriel leans forward.“Are you saying they _don’t_?”

“nah.”Sans cautions a glance at you.“they’re lookin’ for chara here, but that’s all they’ve got.kid’s flyin’ by the seat of their pants.trust me.”He winks and you aren’t sure if it’s directed at you or Asriel.“you have nothing to worry about.”

* * *

[Frisk]

*hey so i just talked to the king, i think we’re good till you get to the castle.  
*i’ll text once we’re in position  
*this is your last chance to back out.

*Are you kidding?  
*It’s WAY too late to back out now.

*...yeah.  
*i was afraid you’d say that.  
*good luck, kid.

* * *

[Chara]

“I suppose it won’t be long, now.”Asriel turns around to stare at you idly.He laughs after a moment.“You haven’t met Sans, have you?Well, don’t get the wrong idea.He may be an insolent prick, but he does his job.He’s captured three humans for me already.”

Your heart skips a beat.Half of the children you sent through that door...

* * *

_“you know i know you’re human, right?”_

* * *

You and Sans had been telling knock knock jokes through that godforsaken door for almost two years.He’d initiated it, although it was your own fault for responding, but...

It couldn’t have all been an act.

...Right?

Asriel laughs at your expression.“What, wondering how such a little guy could’ve taken on those stupid kids?Hah... me too, Chara.Me too.”

You take a moment to process what he said and calm down by small degrees.Asriel has no idea you’ve met him, so it couldn’t have been an order from him.He would’ve been told to act a lot sooner if that was the case, anyway.

Still, your mind jumps to the faces of each of the six children you met in the ruins.Sans was responsible for killing half of them.

Did he _ever_ intend to keep his promise for Frisk?

* * *

[Frisk]

The golden hallway stretches out before you and you take in the sight as you walk.You know the next door is to the throne room, but Sans hasn’t texted you yet so you take your time and rehearse what you’re going to say.

Chara’s already had a chance to talk him down, but knowing them... they’re probably too bitter to actually make an argument without insulting him.You’ll have to start from square one.

You sit down by the entrance and gather your breath.You pull out your phone and text Sans.

*I’m ready to go when you are.

*ok, give us a couple more minutes.

Less than a minute passes before he texts again.

*actually, scratch that.  
*we’re gonna need that distraction sooner than later.

*Alright.  
*I’m going in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Violence and torture (including the leash again but nothing especially graphic)  
> \- Referenced child abuse (physical and emotional)  
> \- Lots of references/discussions of death


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it all comes to a head! This might be my favorite chapter. Hope y'all enjoy :>
> 
> ((Please mind the warnings for this one! If there's anything in the main tags you're worried about, especially if it hasn't come up yet, this is probably the chapter where it is. Specifics are in the end notes.))

[Frisk]

You peer around the corner at the entrance to the throne room, heart beating in your throat.You see the king, sitting on his throne and staring at a book he’s reading.Chara is on their knees next to him, arms behind their back and a collar around their neck - attached to a chain that Asriel is holding loosely in his other hand.

Chara catches your eyes and for a moment, all they do is stare.They glance between you and Asriel and shake their head no at you, eyes wide.You stare back at them, noticing their condition.It’s worse than you expected - they’re covered in wounds and their clothes are torn all over.They’re clearly exhausted - leaning against the throne for support, half on their butt.They’ve been gagged, and the cloth looks like it used to be white...

They keep shaking their head at you, expression frantic, and you give them an apologetic glance before stepping into the open.

Asriel looks up from his book as you enter and grins.“Well, look who finally showed up.”He stands up calmly and places his book on the seat of the throne.You walk cautiously toward him.Asriel snaps his fingers, and the door slams shut behind you.“I’m guessing you’re here for your _friend,_ ” he continues, pulling up on the chain until Chara cries out in pain, somewhat muffled by the gag.

You take a deep breath and start to say what you were going to - to talk him down - but the words get stuck in your throat and your eyes linger on Chara.You have to get them out of here, no matter what.Even if it means...

You draw your knife.

Chara’s eyes widen and Asriel lets go of the chain, giving you a curious look.“Let me get this straight,” he laughs.“You want to _fight_ me?”

Your hands shake, but you tighten your grip on the knife and point it at him.“I don’t, but I _will_ if you refuse to let Chara go.”

“That’s your plan?”Asriel asks, snickering.“You, the little human child who hasn’t even fought back against my royal guard, think you can threaten _me_?”He lets out a few more laughs and grabs the chain around Chara’s neck, fastening it to the armrest of his throne.“If I had known, I might never have wasted so many resources trying to bring you here sooner.Haha, oh well.”He turns back to you and summons a ring of fireballs.

You barely manage to dodge out of the way.It’s the same attack pattern Chara used, but faster and longer.You catch your breath and run toward him, knife ready.He pushes you away easily without you ever getting close to him.

You get caught in his next wave of attacks and land on your back some distance away from him.You stand up and summon a fireball of your own before sending it toward him and missing by a foot and a half.

Asriel sends another wave of fire at you and it hits you in the gut.You fall to your knees, coughing, and barely manage to get out of the way before he sends his next attack.You struggle to your feet and grab the knife again.You run up to him and he grabs your arm before you can attack and throws you to the ground.You move to stand up and he steps on your chest and takes your knife from you.

You struggle against the weight of his foot for a moment before summoning another fireball and smashing it into his ankle.He grimaces and takes his weight off of you momentarily, but you aren’t able to sit up before he pins you down with his hands.

He laughs after a moment, staring down at you, before looking up and shouting, “Undyne!Get in here!”

Undyne enters the room and Asriel grabs your wrists and forces you to your feet.You try to pull away, to no avail.

“Here, just hold them still,” continues Asriel, and Undyne grabs your arms from him and pins them behind your back with one hand, holding your shoulder with the other.

You struggle uselessly and watch as he picks up the knife you dropped.Your heart sinks - you’d told the others you could buy them ten minutes.It probably hasn’t even been two.You swallow.

You’re about to speak when you realize he isn’t coming back towards you - he’s crouched in front of Chara, undoing their handcuffs and redoing them in front of them.Chara tries to grab the gag and pull it out, but Asriel stops them and whispers something in their ear.

He pulls their leash to force them to stand, and puts your knife in their hands.

He steps back and Chara looks down at you.

You forget to breathe.

Chara takes a step toward you.You push backward into Undyne and she forces you to stay where you are.“Wh-what..?”

Chara doesn’t break eye contact.Their hands shake and their eyes cloud with tears.

They raise the knife.

“Wait.”You pull in every direction to get away.“Wait- Chara, no.What are you- n-no, please.”

Chara hesitates, staring down at you.Asriel comes up behind them.

“You don’t have to do this,” you continue, “P-please, don’t...”

They screw their eyes shut and look away from you.

“Chara stop you don’t have to do this wait please WAIT-”

They swing the knife and you shut your eyes and look away.Nothing happens.

You open your eyes and see that they’ve turned and stabbed Asriel instead.

* * *

[Chara]

Asriel stumbles backward, an expression of shock on his face that quickly hardens into anger.He throws a fireball that connects with your hands and you lose your grip on the knife, which he steps on to keep you from picking it up.He yanks the chain and shoves you to the ground, kicking you a few times before pulling you to your knees and attaching the chain to the throne again.He summons another fireball and you brace yourself.

“W-wait,” says Frisk.Asriel hits you anyway before turning his attention to them.

“You know,” he says, “I thought they cared about you more than that.”He laughs and you lower your head, unable to meet Frisk’s eyes.“This was their only chance to grant you a painless death - and they blew it.Haha, oh well.”

You hear Frisk cry out in pain and look up to see them collapsed on the floor, clutching their stomach.Asriel kicks them and they wince visibly.You pull instinctively at the chain around your neck.

He’s about to say something else, but Frisk beats him to it.“I know who you are,” they say, struggling to their elbows and knees.

“Um.I know?I’m the king of the god damn kingdom of monsters.Of course you know who I am.”

“You’re the boy in the photo.”

Your heart skips a beat.You try to get Frisk’s attention, shake your head, stop them.They don’t see you.

“What photo?” asks Asriel.

“The one in Chara’s locket.”

Asriel is silent for a moment before turning to look at you.“You _kept_ it?”His tone is somewhere between surprised and angry.He stomps back to you and pulls the gag off.“Why the hell would you _keep it?_?”

You take a second to spit out the taste of the gag, and Asriel continues.

“How dare you.”You look up to see his expression having shifted to full anger.“After what you DID.How DARE you act like we meant ANYTHING TO YOU?”

“YOU WERE EVERYTHING TO ME!” you shout back, face wet with tears.“It wasn’t a fucking ACT, you idiot.You were the only FUCKNG friend I ever had.I...” you trail off for a second, coughing.“You could never have been anything less.You and her both.You were the first people to make me feel like I was _worth_ something.I...”You sniffle, your eyes starting to cloud up.“I fucking _loved_ you, Asriel.”

For a long moment, the only sound is your sniffling and Frisk breathing.Asriel swallows before he speaks.

“Then why...?”

You look up at him and see that he looks genuinely surprised.He looks like he might start crying himself.

“Why did you let her die?”

“I didn’t-”

“You LEFT HER back there.She died protecting you and you LEFT HER.”

“She told me to run.I was just a kid.I was scared.”

Asriel grabs your shirt and pulls you up by it.He glares down at you, teeth bared.“She died because of _you_.”

He pulls the chain of your leash off of the throne and shoves you back to the ground. A fireball connects with your back.You land on your elbows and look back up at him.

“I’m sorry,” you tell him.

“It should’ve been you. _You’re_ the one he wanted.You should’ve died, and she would still be here.”

“I know.God, Asriel, I _know_.I’m sorry.I’m sorry.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Shut UP!”

He hits you again and you collapse the rest of the way, not daring to look at him.You’re crying, but there aren’t any tears.You curl up against the throne, trying to remember how to breathe.

You hear Frisk cry out in pain.You look up and see Asriel pushing them to the floor and pinning their arms behind their back.You try to stand up, to stop him, but your legs give out and you fall back into the dirt.

“You don’t have to do this,” says Frisk quietly.

“You think I don’t know that?” asks Asriel mockingly, and you hear them cry out again.

You push yourself against the throne and lean against it, reaching up to brace yourself against the armrest.By slow degrees, you struggle to your feet.You look down at Asriel, handcuffing Frisk, and growl, “Leave them alone.”

“Nah,” he replies, smiling.

“Asriel, look at me.”

Asriel finishes fastening the handcuffs and forces Frisk to their feet.He looks down at you and you want nothing more than to kill him right now.Instead, you swallow your pride for a moment and meet his eyes.

“It was my fault, okay?I _know_ that.”You cough a little, throat still raw from crying.“And... and you know what else I know?”

Asriel all but rolls his eyes at you.You continue anyway.

“I know what she would have wanted.”

He freezes, looking you in the eye for the first time, smile fading.

You swallow.“Frisk is a _child_ , Azzy.Just like I was.They didn’t have any part in this.I... If you want revenge on me, fine.I get it.But...”

“You don’t get to speak for her,” he interrupts.

“If she was here-”

“She’s NOT here.”

“If she was-”

“Shut up.Just SHUT UP-”

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

Asriel is silent for a moment.You cough again and lean forward, staring him in the eyes.

“Look me in the eye and TELL ME she’d be okay with this.”

“It doesn’t MATTER if she’d be okay with it.She’s DEAD.”Asriel shoves Frisk to the side and they land on their knees.He stalks toward you and yanks your collar upward to force you closer to him.“She’s dead,” he repeats, “because of _you_.”

Silently, you pull the chain between the cuffs on your wrists taught, watching Asriel’s expression, and get a foothold on the throne.In one motion you lunge forward and knock him off of his feet.You land on top of him and pull the chain over his throat and push down.Asriel claws your face and burns you but you hold on.Suddenly you feel the chain of your leash pulling you backwards and land on your back on the floor.

“Jesus, are you alright?”Undyne’s voice.You forgot she was here.You roll onto your side and brace yourself before Asriel stands up and attacks you.Your vision blurs.

* * *

_You search and search for Toriel’s dust, thinking somehow you’ve got to find it.It must be here somewhere.You owed her so much and you gave her so little, and now she’s gone and the least you can do is give her a proper funeral._

_You can’t find her dust, but you know she’s gone because she never comes back to the ruins.You know she’s gone because rumors spread quickly even here.You know because everyones knows: the queen is dead._

_When the monsters in the Ruins come for you, you don’t hesitate to kill them.You feel your LV rise and fester like a parasite - like the parasite you are.You lock all the doors to the house and you don’t come out for anything._

_You find your locket where Asriel hid it.You want to throw it away, but it’s all you have left of him.She would have wanted you to keep it, you think, so you do._

_You don’t wear it again for a long time._

* * *

You wake up on the stone floor of the basement.You groan softly, trying to gather the will to open your eyes, and you hear Frisk’s voice after a moment.

“Are you awake?”

You push yourself onto your elbows and look toward the voice.Frisk is curled up in the corner of the room, chained to the wall by the collar Asriel stole from you.Their hands are behind their back.You guess Asriel left the cuffs on.

Your own hands are free for the moment, so you push yourself into a sitting position and lean against the wall.Your collar’s been fastened to it’s usual spot, too far away from Frisk.

“Yeah,” you say finally, in response to their question.Frisk nods.

You spend a few minutes in silence, trying to decide on what to say, but there isn’t anything.You hug your knees to your chest and look away from Frisk.After another moment, you whisper, “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” you repeat.“I lied to you.I promised I would come back, even though...”

You hear shuffling from where Frisk is, but you can’t look at them.“I knew,” they tell you, solemnly.

“W... what?”You look back at them and see that they’re staring at the opposite corner, expression tense.

“I knew what you were planning,” they clarify.“I heard you tell Sans.”

You stare at them blankly for a few minutes.They never meet your eyes.You look away from them again and run a hand through your hair.“I’m sorry,” you repeat.

“You did it for me,” Frisk whispers.“When I found out you were captured but still alive, I...” they sniffle and curl farther into themself.“I had to do _something_.”

“Right,” you wipe your face on your sleeve, even though you still can’t seem to cry.“Because this is so much better.”

Frisk looks away from you and you kick yourself mentally.They didn’t need to hear that.You’re about to apologize when they whisper, “It’s not over yet.”

You bury your head in your knees.You don’t want to think about what happens next.

* * *

[Frisk]

Asriel comes back less than half an hour after Chara wakes up.You know it isn’t safe to tell Chara about the plan yet - not when you’re probably being watched - but you kind of regret not at least telling them that there _is_ one.You watch their expression when Asriel enters.They’re trying to hide it, but they’re scared.

He crosses the room toward them and their expression hardens.“Still think I’ll do what you want regardless?” they spit.Asriel hums thoughtfully, staring down at them.

“Maybe I should have known better than to think you’d know what’s good for you,” he says simply, and turns away from them, walking over to you.He kneels to your height and you try uselessly to back farther into the corner.You hear Chara moving.

“Wait,” they whisper, and he grabs your arm, claws out.You pull instinctively against the handcuffs and grit your teeth to keep from screaming.He forces you to stand up and turns back toward Chara.

You can’t see his face, but it sounds like he’s grinning when he says, “Have you forgotten you still have something to lose?”

Chara’s expression melts into panic.Asriel’s grip on your arm tightens and you grimace and look away.You try to pull away from him and he pushes you against the wall and you hear him summoning some kind of fire magic.

You fail at not screaming this time, pushing your feet as hard as you can against the floor and trying futilely to keep your face away from the flame.

“Please stop,” you hear Chara say, and he turns away from you for a moment to look at them.“I get it,” they continue, voice barely above a whisper.“You’ve made your point, Asriel.Please stop.”

Asriel laughs and hits you again, but lets go of your arm this time and lets you fall to the floor.You curl up against the wall and hide your face in your knees.

“You want a turn?” asks Asriel, and you look up.Chara glances between you and him before looking down.

“S...sure,” they stutter, “Let’s... let’s go with that.”

* * *

[Chara]

It surprises you a little that Asriel doesn’t hit you any harder now that Frisk is watching.You force yourself not to look back at them and wait it out.

He tires himself out after a few minutes, and you let yourself relax minutely while he takes a minute to breathe.“What did you expect me to do?” you whisper, so that maybe he can’t hear you.“She told me to run.I couldn’t have helped her if I’d stayed.”

“You could have _tried_ ,” Asriel replies bitterly.“Frisk tried for _you_ , didn’t they?”

You look him in the eye and say, “I fucking begged them not to.Do you honestly think she would have wanted that?”

“She should never have protected you.”

You look back at the floor.“I know.But that was _her_ mistake.”

Asriel hits you again, as hard as you think he can.You curl up a little, coughing, and brace yourself for the next one.

“Your highness!”Undyne's voice.Asriel turns to the door.

“ _What?_ ” he demands.

“Your highness, it’s...”Undyne pauses for breath.“It’s the souls.The souls are gone.”

* * *

The door slams shut behind Asriel and Undyne, and you push yourself into a sitting position against the wall.It takes you a long time to process what she’d said.

The souls... the human souls.The children...

“Oh thank god.” whispers Frisk, and you look up at them and see that they’ve relaxed, grinning.Their expression falls after a moment and they turn back to you.“Are you alright?”

There's no right answer to that question, so you bow your head and say nothing.Frisk is silent for a few minutes.

“It’s going to be okay,” they tell you quietly.“This is part of the plan.”

You push yourself back up, surprised.“You... actually have a plan?”

Frisk nods.“I was just the distraction,” they tell you carefully.“I wasn’t sure I’d bought them enough time, but...”They laugh a little, resting against the wall.“It’s working,” they whisper, more to themself than to you.“It’s going to work.”

* * *

Frisk won’t tell you anything else about the plan - they insist there’s a chance you’re being watched - so for a long time all you can do is wait.You expect Asriel to come back any minute and finish what he started, but as time passes you start to hope that maybe Frisk is right.

You try to push it back.Hope is a dangerous thing.You can’t afford it.

“Is Sans part of the plan?” you ask, still unsure whether you believe what he said to Asriel or what Asriel said about him.

Frisk hesitates for a long moment before giving you a quiet “Mhm.”

“He...” you hesitate for a long time before asking, “You heard the promise he made, right?If you heard me tell him...”

“Yeah.”

“Did he keep it?”

“Yeah, he did.”

You look over at them and they stare right back at you, knees pulled to their chest with their chin resting on them.Their face is bruised and you can hear them breathing even from where you are.

...Even if Sans did help them get this far...

He still let this happen.He still let them get hurt.

You look back at the floor and will yourself not to cry.You can’t - you _won’t_ cry - not in front of Frisk.You listen for any sign of movement outside, any chance that maybe Frisk’s plan has a shot at working.

All you hear is silence.

* * *

_The vase shatters at your feet.For a moment all you can do is stare at it in stunned silence.You hear someone walk up behind you and you’re in tears before you even see who it is._

_“I’m sorry - I’m sorry!”You drop to your knees and start picking up the pieces.Your hands shake too much to gather them without hurting yourself.“I can - I can fix it, I...”_

_“Stop that.”Asgore’s voice.He grabs your forearms and pulls them toward you and you freeze, hyperventilating.“You’re just getting blood all over the pieces - drop it.”_

_You close your eyes and release your grip on the shards, hands still shaking, and Asgore pulls you to your feet and turns you around, looking at your bloodied hands.“I’m sorry,” you repeat._

_“I know,” he replies, and gently picks a shard out of a wound in your hand before releasing you.“Go find the broom and dustpan.”_

_You nod and scurry off to the hall closet, trying to ignore the pain in your hands when you pick up the dustpan and broom.You run back to where Asgore is moving the end table away from the shards on the floor.He sees you approach and takes the broom, and you hold the dustpan for him while he sweeps up the shards of the vase._

_“I’m sorry,” you say again when he takes the dustpan from you and dumps the shards in the trash.You brace yourself for some kind of punishment, and he grabs the end of your leash..._

_“Try to be more careful in the future,” he says simply, and leads you down the hall to the..._

_...Past the basement, and into the living room, where he motions for you to sit at the table and continues working on the papers strewn about.You watch his expression for a bit, confused, and remind yourself after a bit not to stare.You look back down at your hands - you think the bleeding’s stopped already, but it still hurts to move them.You’d barely even noticed the pain until now.Somehow it feels like it’s gotten worse._

_You glance nervously back at Asgore, who doesn’t take his eyes off the papers.He’s waiting to punish you - that’s new.He’s never done that before.You wonder what he’s waiting for... For Toriel to get home?Or Asriel?But why would that make a difference?You think about asking, but it’s never a good idea to draw attention to yourself (especially his attention) and out of everyone, Asgore gets the most upset when you speak out of turn..._

_“I am not going to punish you for this,” Asgore says suddenly, and you can’t stop yourself from staring back up at him.He turns a paper over in his hands, still not looking at you._

_“Why?”You shouldn’t ask, but you do.Your voice comes out a little strained and you bow your head again in case he looks at you.Asgore sighs quietly._

_“I think you’ve learned your lesson.”He pushes some of the papers away and stretches.“I will punish you if it happens again,” he warns, “but this time I don’t see any need for it.”_

_You glance up at him again, confused.He stares down at you with an expression you can’t read.You look down again and nod once._

_“Th-thank you,” you stammer, silently hoping he’s telling the truth._

* * *

[Frisk]

The door opens and you look up, squinting against the silhouette of... you can’t tell who it is yet.They look big - bigger than Asriel - and their form almost looks like it’s glowing softly against the harsher light coming from the hallway.It has to be Papyrus - he must have absorbed the souls.That wasn’t part of the plan, but he’d mentioned it as a contingency.The monster climbs down the stairs and you get a better look at them.

Your heart sinks.

Undyne.

You hear Chara move, but you can’t take your eyes off of her.She looks back and forth between you and Chara with her good eye.You can’t read her expression.

“What happened?” asks Chara, and her attention snaps to them.“What are you doing?Where’s Asriel?”

Undyne says nothing, and her expression hardens.She takes a step toward the two of you, but her movements are jerky and slow.

“You... You’re here because you need another soul, right?” asks Chara.“To break the barrier.Y-you need seven.”

After a moment, Undyne nods.

You try to speak, but the words catch in your throat.

She walks up to Chara and summons her spear.

“So... s-so you don’t need Frisk anymore, okay?Just let them go.I won’t even fight if you’ll just let them go.”

“Chara,” you try to say, but your voice is gone.You can’t let this happen.You can’t let them die.You pull against the chains behind your back.

Undyne aims her spear at them and Chara bows their head.When she hesitates, they glance back up at you for just a moment before closing their eyes again.

“I’m sorry, Frisk.”

Undyne’s spear is through their neck before you can react.Their body falls to the ground, limp.Their soul starts to glow, and hovers above them.Undyne reaches out to it.

You can’t take your eyes off Chara.You can’t breathe.You hear footsteps coming toward you and you can’t do anything but sit uselessly even when the chains around your wrists break and Undyne climbs the steps again.

This isn’t happening.

This _can’t be_ happening.

You hear movement.Sans and Alphys’ voices.Light.

Chara doesn’t move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Major Character Death (at the very end)  
> \- Suicide by proxy (kind of) (see above)  
> \- Torture  
> \- The collar again  
> \- Child abuse (physical mostly, a bit verbal)


	10. Chapter 10

[Chara]

_You never meet the first human child to fall._

_You find their body the day you finally leave the house for the first time after Toriel’s death.They died from the fall - never walked a step farther.The Whimsuns already took their soul to Asgore and Asriel, and when you ask them about it, they tell you their plan._

_Gather seven human souls and shatter the barrier._

_You bury the human in the garden outside your house.There isn’t much you can do, but you guess they at least deserved a burial._

_You have no particular love for humanity, but this was just a child.You don’t know what Asgore and Asriel think they’re doing, but you know what Toriel would have said._

_You find an old mattress and place it under the opening.You won’t let another child die here.Not if you can save them._

* * *

_The second human doesn’t trust you no matter what you do. You try to convince him that you’re on his side, that you would have left a long time ago if it was possible, that there is no way out of the underground. He tells you he’ll defeat Asgore on his own if he has to._

_He asks you to come with him.You tell him if he wants to get killed, that’s his problem._

_You hear a week later that the king and the prince have another soul.You try not to care.It was his own fault.You warned him.He had every chance in the world to be safe and instead he chose to pick a fight with the king and die._

_The next day you hear the news:The king died from the wounds he sustained in battle with the human._

_Asriel is the king now._

* * *

_The third human shows genuine ability when they spar you. You try to warn them against continuing on, but they insist that there isn’t any challenge that they won’t conquer. You remember the king’s death and decide to let them through._

_You get word the very next day: they never made it past waterfall._

_You know this one was your fault.You should have known there was no chance a human child could defeat him.He knows how to fight humans better than anyone._

_It’s only a few days later when you meet Sans.Toriel would have liked him.You find some of her old joke books to share.You know you aren’t the best audience, but he keeps coming back anyway._

* * *

_The fourth human claims to believe you. She stays in your house and acts friendly, and sneaks out in the middle of the night while you’re asleep, leaving behind a note explaining that she knows you’re telling the truth, that she knows she’ll probably die out there, but she could never live with herself if she didn’t at least try to proceed._

_You wish you could at least have seen her off.You wish you had warned her about the nature of the barrier._

_You wish Sans hadn’t phrased it quite the way he did when he told you she was dead._

* * *

_The fifth human insists that she can talk him down. You want to believe her. You take your old locket out of storage and try to believe that he can be talked out of this. The human keeps insisting that she can do it until you finally agree to let her through. You know you’re going to regret it, but you hope she’s right._

_You want to believe there’s still some of that little boy from the Ruins in Asriel._

_You hear about it a few days later: she never reached him._

* * *

_The sixth human doesn’t bother trying to convince you to let him through. He just fights you._

_You try to talk him down.You try to tell him that he’s going to die if he proceeds.You try to warn him about Asriel and all the others._

_You refuse to fight back.He continues, unfazed, until you yield and let him through.Even if he does fail, which he will, you guess he can do some damage to their ranks.You doubt you can stop him by force, anyway._

_You can’t bring yourself to be sad when you hear about his death.It’s just a thing.You didn’t even know him - not really.You want to care.You try to care, a little.But you don’t._

* * *

_You tried not to care about Frisk, either, but you did._

* * *

[Frisk]

Sans has to drag you away from their body.You try to insist on taking it with you - Chara deserves a burial, but your voice keeps breaking and he doesn’t listen.You’re back in the hallway before you know what’s happening.Sans stops dead and you follow his eyes upward: Asriel.

* * *

[Chara]

_The barrier stretches out before you and you can see twilight on the other side.Asgore keeps a firm grasp on your shoulder and you daren’t move an inch from where you stand.“This is it,” you hear him say, before turning around and leading you away from it.You crane your neck around to watch it as you go.Freedom is so close._

* * *

[Frisk]

You want to kill him.You’ve never wanted to hurt anyone in your entire life, but right now you want to kill him.Sans tries to hold you back, to get you to run, but you summon a fireball and run straight for him.

* * *

[Chara]

_“Remember,” says Toriel as you drop into your fighting stance, facing the dummy.“When you’re fighting a monster, intent is everything.”_

_You nod and attack on her command._

* * *

[Frisk]

Asriel falls to his knees and you recognize the shock and fear in his eyes when he looks back up at you.You summon another fireball to hit him again.

* * *

[Chara]

_The vase shatters at your feet._

* * *

[Frisk]

You hear yelling and suddenly you’re on your butt and Alphys is holding your shoulders and Sans is between you and Asriel.You push back against Alphys and she holds firm.Your vision blurs.

* * *

[Chara]

The first thing you become aware of is the pain.

Everything hurts.Your arms ache, your wrists burn, and your throat feels like it was torn open.You groan and try to curl into yourself, but something hinders your movement.You try to open your eyes, squinting against the blinding light.

You think you can see Frisk.It’s just the top of their head - their hair is a tangled mess, matted together and stained with blood.They’re close... they’re lying on your arm, the way they used to back in the Ruins, curled up close with their face buried in your side.With some difficulty, you reach over to their head with your other arm to brush their hair out of their face.

Something tugs at your wrist, but gives without much force.You look back at it - there’s an IV tube sticking out of it.That’s... new.

You try to remember what happened.You died.You’re pretty sure you died.You must have died, so how...

You rest your hand on the top of frisk’s head and decide it doesn’t matter.Frisk is here.Frisk is safe.That’s all that matters.

You look around the room to try to get your bearings.It’s someplace you don’t recognize, but it looks almost like a hospital.It’s not the Ruins... but it’s not the house either, and your collar is gone, so it must be safe here.

Frisk stirs next to you and you glance down at them as they open their eyes.Their whole face brightens instantaneously and they sit up, grinning back down at you.

“You’re awake!”

“Yeah,” you mumble, and your voice comes out hoarse and raw.“I think so.”

Frisk hugs you tight and you almost push them away because _wow_ that hurts, but you hug them back instead.“You’re awake!” they repeat.“You’re really here it-it really worked haha...”

Their grip loosens a bit, but they don’t let go and neither do you.“What...” you ask, still having some trouble getting your mouth to do what you tell it to.“ _What_ worked?What happened?Where are we?”

“It’s okay,” they mumble into your chest,“It’s okay, we’re safe here.”

Before you can ask them again, the door opens and Alphys walks in.Frisk immediately sits up and waves at her excitedly.“Alphys! They’re awake! It worked!”

Alphys hesitates in the doorframe, surprised, before hurrying into the room.“C-careful, you shouldn’t be moving around too much, e-either of you.”When she reaches the bed, she gently grabs Frisk’s hands and pulls them away from you, and grabs a stethoscope from beside the bed.Frisk begrudgingly climbs off the bed, but you grab their hand before they can walk away.

“I c-can’t believe it worked,” mutters Alphys, looking down at you with a concerned expression.

“I TOLD YOU!”Your heart skips a beat at the voice - Undyne.Undyne is here.You tighten your grip on Frisk’s hand and they look down at you, concerned.

“It’s alright,” they tell you.“Undyne’s a friend now.”

“W-what?” is all you can think to say.

You see her walk up behind Frisk and it takes everything you have not to jump in between them.She meets your eyes with a wide grin and continues, “GODLIKE power, remember?It wasn’t even hard!”She laughs, and you’re still taking in her appearance.She looks like she’s back to normal.

“What about the others?” you hear yourself ask, and immediately regret it.Undyne’s smile falls.

“It didn’t work on them,” she says.“Guess they’d been dead for too long.”

“So they’re just... gone...?” you murmur.

“Yeah,” Undyne replies solemnly.“Sorry.”

You stare at the ceiling, trying to think of how to respond and slowly losing your grip on the conscious world.

This is probably just a nice dream.

* * *

Frisk shifts next to you and you reach out to them, pulling them closer.They giggle at you and hug you back, snuggling up close.You hold them tight and decide to go back to sleep.

* * *

“Chara?Hey, wake up.”

You squint your eyes open against the oppressive light and Frisk’s face comes into view.“Mm?” you grunt, and they poke your face again.

“Come on,” they insist.“I brought food.You need to eat.”

You groan softly and push your face back into the pillow.

“Chara...”

You breathe in through your nose and smell something like chicken.You try to ignore it.Your stomach growls in protest.

You groan again, louder this time, and force yourself to sit up.You lean back against the mountain of pillows on the bed and Frisk shoves a warm bowl of soup into your lap.

It’s delicious, but you have trouble getting it down between your drowsiness and the traitorous complaints of your wounded throat.You get through half of the bowl before finally giving up and setting it aside.Frisk watches you the whole time, eyebrows furrowed.

“You need to eat,” they protest when they see you put it down.

You don’t think you _can_ eat anymore, but all you can force yourself to say is, “Tired.”

Frisk sighs dejectedly and climbs onto the bed next to you.“Okay,” they concede, “but you have to try again later.”

“Mhm,” you reply, hugging them close and already starting to drift off to sleep again.

* * *

You hear voices around you and don’t bother opening your eyes.Frisk isn’t next to you, but you can hear them, so you know they’re safe.“I’m just worried...” they’re saying.

“I know.”Alphys’ voice.“But their vitals are strong.I’m s-sure they’ll be fine.”

“They’re barely eating.You said this was happening because they don’t have enough energy, but how are they supposed to get energy if they can’t eat?”

“F-frisk, it’s alright.It’s normal for humans not to be able to eat much after being, u-um, starved.”

“But they...”Frisk trails off and sighs.“Why can’t they stay awake?” they mutter.

“Their soul is still weak.It’s just magical exhaustion.N-nothing to be worried about.”

“I know.”You feel weight on the bed as Frisk sits down on it.“I know, Alphys, I just...”Their hand appears on your shoulder and they sigh.“I miss them.”

* * *

Frisk isn’t here.

You squint your eyes open and try to sit up, only really managing to push yourself onto your elbows.You look around the room - it’s empty.You force yourself to sit up the rest of the way, cringing against the pain.You have to find them.

The door opens suddenly and Alphys rushes in.“H-hey, careful!Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Where is Frisk?”You whisper, voice barely audible.

Alphys grabs your shoulders and pushes you gently until you lean back against the pillows.“They just went to the bathroom,” she tells you.“They’ll be back soon.D-did you need something?”

You stare at her blankly for a second before you can process what she said.Frisk is okay.They’re safe.You nod and lie back down.

Alphys makes a confused noise, but doesn’t say anything else.

* * *

You manage to down an entire bowl of soup, and Frisk looks so happy and relieved, and you stay awake a little longer so you can talk to them, even though your voice still hurts and you’re still tired.

“What about you?” you ask them.“Are you hurt?I... I can’t remember very well.”

“I’m alright,” they tell you, but they still have that bruise on their face.You reach out and touch it accusingly and Frisk laughs.“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” they tell you.

“I’m sorry,” you mutter.“I was just trying to protect you... you still got hurt... I’m sorry.”

Frisk hugs you tight and you hug them back as hard as you can.“It’s alright,” they tell you.“I understand.”

“What... what _happened_ , anyway?Where are we?”

Frisk pulls back from the hug before answering.“Alphys’ lab, in Hotland.”

“How did we get here?”

“Papyrus carried you.”

“No, but how...”You cough, not used to talking so much at a time, and Frisk hands you a glass of water.You take a minuscule sip and continue, “Where’s Asriel?”

Frisk suddenly looks uncomfortable.“He’s in jail,” they reply.

“Jail?”

“Yeah.We beat him, so...”Frisk looks back toward the door.“I guess Undyne’s in charge now?She said she was his second-in-command.”

So Asriel is alive.Dethroned, but alive.

“Um... hey, I...”Frisk stands up and opens the drawer on the nightstand before pulling something out.“One of the Froggits found this in the stream.I... thought you might want it.”

They take your hand and place something metal inside of it.You pull it closer.It’s your locket.

“The picture was ruined,” Frisk continues, “but the metal is okay, I think.”

You aren’t sure what to say.You stare at it for a long time, trying to decide whether to tell Frisk you don’t want it and throw it away again, or...

Or _what?_ You can’t wear it again.Not after what he did to Frisk.

...But.But you can’t throw it away, either.

You swallow thickly and place it on the nightstand.“Thanks,” you say quietly.

You’ll decide later.

* * *

“Look, I _know_ they’re still recovering, but-”

“Undyne, c-come on.”

“We have to decide eventually!”

You groan inwardly at the realization that you’re awake again, trying to process the argument happening around you.

“I-it’s too risky!”Alphys’s voice again.“They haven’t completely stabilized yet-”

“You’re the one who’s always going on about how tough humans are supposed to be!Jeez, Alphys, It’s just one question - It’s not like I’m gonna take them out to the courtyard and _fight_ ‘em.”

“This has never _happened_ before - I don’t think you understand-”

“No!I don’t!Because it’s _stupid!_ I’m waking them up.”

“D-don’t you _dare_.”

You open your eyes to see Undyne glaring down at you from behind an especially anxious Alphys.Frisk is sitting on the bed next to you, shoulders tense.You reach out and take their hand.

Frisk gives you a surprised glance and looks back to Alphys and Undyne.“They’re awake...”

Nobody speaks for a moment.You swallow and take a second to remember how your voice works.“What’s going on?”

“We need to talk,” says Undyne before anyone can stop her.

You sit up slowly and Frisk moves closer to you.You pull them into your lap, not taking your eyes off of Undyne.Alphys sighs and grabs a chair.“Chara,” she says, “Undyne needs to talk to you about Asriel.”She sits down and looks pointedly at you.“W-we can stop anytime, okay?Just say the word and Undyne will leave.”

Undyne gives Alphys a _look_ , and you’re sure she never agreed to that, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Can we just get to the point?” you ask, not wanting to stay awake for too long.

Undyne sits down on the bed where Frisk was.“We have to decide what we’re going to do with him.”

“Okay...?” you reply, not really sure what you were expecting.“How does this involve me?”

“I need to know what he did to you.”

Frisk takes your hand and you squeeze it gently, still a little confused as to what all the commotion is about.“I mean,” you respond slowly, “you were _there_ for most of it.”

“Most,” Undyne repeats indignantly.“Asriel...Asriel is going to pay for what he did.I’ll see to that.So I need to know exactly how bad it was.”

Frisk interrupts quietly from their spot in your lap.“Undyne thinks we should kill him.”

Undyne and Alphys both move to stop them, but they’re done talking before either of them can interrupt.You look back up at Alphys, who’s watching your expression carefully.You hug Frisk a little tighter and swallow.

“Do you think we should kill him?” Frisk continues warily, turning their head awkwardly to look at you.You run a hand through their hair and try to think.

The barrier is gone.You aren’t really sure _how_ you know that, but you’re certain it is.You sigh, resting your head gently on Frisk’s.This would have been so much easier if it wasn’t.You could’ve argued to let Frisk take Asriel’s soul so they could leave.

But no.

You look away from everyone and sigh.“...Do with him what you will,” you answer carefully.“I don’t think I should get a say in this.”

“The hell you shouldn’t!” Undyne replies suddenly.“You’re the person he’s hurt most of all.You should have more of a say than _anyone_.”

You stare at Undyne for a moment, managing to be almost shocked through the haze of half-sleep.She meets your eyes evenly, face rigid with determination.

Frisk squeezes your hand and you hug them a little tighter.“The person he hurt most, huh?” you repeat, rubbing their hand gently.“Not the six children he murdered?”

Undyne visibly deflates.“We’d ask them, too, if they were here,” she says quietly.“But they’re not.So it’s up to us.”

You don’t want to make this decision.You don’t want Asriel’s life in your hands.You remember Alphys’s promise that she’d make Undyne leave if you asked.

Frisk speaks up suddenly.“I want him dead.”

“What?”

They curl into themself in your lap, avoiding your eyes.“I... I want him to suffer for what he did,” they continue.“For killing those people.For hurting you.”They pause for a long second, their grasp on your hand tightening.“But I don’t think he _should_.I don’t think we should kill him.”

“I still don’t understand you, kid,” says Undyne flatly.You almost laugh.You didn’t think Frisk was capable of anger.You pull them close again.You know what to say.

“I want to see him.”

* * *

[Frisk]

Chara brings a cane to the prison where Asriel is being held, leaning on it more than you know they wanted to but insisting again and again to Alphys that they don’t need a wheelchair.You walk close to their side, holding their other hand and ready to support them if they fall.When you get to the door, they ask Alphys to wait outside and she reluctantly agrees.

Then they look at you and you’re sure they’re about to tell you to stay with her.You tighten your grip on their hand.

“Frisk,” they start, and you meet their eyes indignantly.“Do you want to stay out here?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”You won’t leave them alone with him.Not even for five minutes.

Chara nods and doesn’t press it any farther.You follow them inside.

* * *

Asriel is sitting crosslegged with his back to the wall when you enter.He glances up at you, expression guarded until he spots Chara and stares at them openly.You look back up at them - standing as straight as they can and looking down their nose at him.Asriel sits up a little straighter, glaring and trying to look dignified despite his hands bound behind his back.

Chara slowly makes their way to the bars of his cell and sits down in front of him.Neither of them speak.

You inch closer to Chara and sit next to them, taking their hand and holding it tight.Chara looks back at you, and their expression softens.

They swallow thickly before they speak.“Hello.”

Asriel doesn’t break eye contact.He doesn’t reply, either.Chara’s grip on your hand tightens.

“So,” they start, “I... suppose I’ve missed a lot.”

They wait, again, for Asriel to reply.He doesn’t.

“I’m curious - whose idea was it?The plan to destroy the barrier.Did you come up with that?”

Chara waits again.Asriel still doesn’t break eye contact.He still doesn’t speak.

“Was it because of Toriel?To avenge her?”

No response...

“Asriel?”

Chara waits for a long time after you give up on expecting him to respond.You squeeze their hand, hoping you can comfort them.They finally look away from him, staring solemnly down at their legs.

“So that is how it is,” they mutter, and sigh.“Fine.I’ll just talk, then, and you can listen.”

* * *

[Chara]

“I just wanted to let you know... I don’t hate you.I want to hate you.I sort of think I _should_ hate you... No, I _know_ I should hate you.But I don’t.”You take a deep breath.In, out.

“I don’t even know how many years it was - how long you and your family kept me in the basement like an animal.And you will never understand what that’s like - knowing the smallest mistake could lead to your death.Being entirely at the mercy of people who simply don’t care whether you live or die.”Frisk squeezes your hand again and you squeeze back. “But those years in the Ruins meant everything to me.”Asriel moves slightly, but when you look up at him he’s still again.You take another breath.In, out.

You take the locket out of your pocket and place it on the ground between two of the bars.If he decides to take it back now, you won’t stop him.

“You were like a brother to me.You’re... probably the first person I felt like I could really trust.”

Asriel suddenly cuts in.“You were afraid of me.”

His voice is hoarse from lack of use.His expression doesn’t change.You take another breath.In, out.

“Yes.”You meet his eyes and watch for any change in his blank expression.“I was,” you confirm.“I still am.”You look back down at the stone floor, letting out a bitter chuckle.“You hurt me more than Toriel and Asgore ever did.You never had a reason - you never _needed_ a reason.I was terrified of you.”

“And Mom,” he adds.You look up sharply, surprised.

Another breath.In, out.

“Sometimes.”Toriel had almost never hurt you, even when you lived in New Home, but there had always been a lingering doubt in your mind about her.“Yeah, sometimes I was afraid of her.”

“Is that why you let her die?”

“I did everything I could for her,” you say without thinking.“Christ, Azzy, why are you so sure I wanted her dead?I _loved_ her.”

“No.She loved _you_ ,” Asriel spits.“She loved you like you were her own _kid_ , and I always knew what a waste it was.”

You stand up and for just a moment, Asriel’s expression shifts to fear before hardening again.You glare down at him and try desperately to think of what to say.

Frisk speaks before you can.“You’re jealous.”

You look down at them as they stand up and scuttle behind your legs to hide from Asriel, who is now glaring at them - no blank mask, just pure anger.

It’s an expression you know.You have to stop yourself from running and hiding yourself at the sight of it.

You wait for him to speak.After a long moment, he refocuses his glare toward you.“I tried, you know,” he says, expression softening just a little.“I really tried to see what she saw in you.I wanted to like you.”he laughs, then, and you inch backward.“Haha - what a waste!As though there was ever any reason to keep you around.I should have killed you the day Mom and Dad dragged you home.”

“Why didn’t you?” you interrupt out of genuine curiosity.You don’t remember that day very well.

Asriel seems taken aback by the question.“I was curious,” he replies after a moment.“That’s all.”

You sit back down.You know he’s lying - he isn’t really trying very hard - but you decide not to push the issue.You’re not really sure what you were expecting to accomplish here, anyway - it isn’t like you have any shot at gaining closure.You take Frisk’s hand again and say, just because you want to know how he’ll react, “Undyne asked for my input in deciding what to do with you.”

Asriel’s blank, guarded expression returns after a moment of surprise.He waits for you to continue.You don’t.“...What did you tell her?” he asks finally.

“I asked for time to think,” you reply.It may as well be true - she wasn’t about to accept your non-answer.You chuckle softly.“Heh - maybe we’ll give you a taste of your own medicine: see how _you_ like having to beg for scraps off the table.”That would be cathartic, you think.Frisk shifts uncomfortably next to you.

Asriel doesn’t react.

“Nothing to say?” you ask.

No response.

“Alright.Goodbye, Azzy.”

You grab the locket, stand up again and start walking toward the exit.Frisk follows close behind you.

You pause at the door and wait to see if Asriel tries to stop you.

He doesn’t.

* * *

On the way back, you can’t help but be preoccupied with everything you should’ve said; everything you _shouldn’t_ have said.

_What happened to you?_

What happened to the little boy you knew in the ruins?To his careless smile, his easy laughter?What happened to the Asriel who sang on your birthday and helped you bake pies for Toriel?

Is there anything left of that, now?

You try to remember his face in the castle, but your thoughts are blurred and confused.A tense smile, a bitter laugh...

Maybe you’re just making things up.

Maybe you were _always_ just making things up.

* * *

But the next time you see Undyne, you tell her you don’t want him dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Attempted murder?  
> \- Discussions/implications of death and various abuse  
> \- Hospital-type stuff (including the non-graphic presence of an IV needle)  
> \- Food... weirdness? being unable to eat much?  
> \- I doubt this is a common trigger/squick but the only really graphically-described thing in this one is brain fog and prolonged exhaustion.
> 
> Damn I was looking at this chapter going "hey there aren't a lot of warnings huh" but like, I guess severity of angst doesn't actually correlate with the number of common triggers, huh. Anyway this might've been my favorite chapter to /write/. We finally get to the "comfort" part of this massive hurt/comfort mess :>


	11. Chapter 11

[Chara]

You put the pie in the oven and set the timer, leaning against the counter and trying to ignore the pain in your bad leg.It’s the one thing Alphys couldn’t heal.You can’t really complain - it’s thanks to her you’re alive at all.

You turn around to see Frisk watching you from the doorway.You’re pretty sure they’ve been expecting you to collapse and die at any moment for the past month.You smile at them in a way you hope is reassuring.

Someone knocks on the front door and Frisk beats you to opening it.You’re still waddling into the living room when you hear a familiar voice.

“no, no, you ain’t supposed to open the door, you’re supposed to ask ‘who’s there?’come on, let’s try again.”

“Where have you BEEN?” Frisk asks indignantly.Sans laughs nervously and you finally get close enough to see him.

“heh, sorry kiddo,” he says, glancing up at you for just a moment before looking back at them.“undyne asked me to do some scouting before we make contact.”

He walks casually into the living room as he talks, and Frisk closes the door behind him.“With the humans...?” they ask, like they’re remembering all at once that the barrier’s finally gone.

You rest against the chair and watch their expression.It doesn’t shift to excitement like you were expecting, but you’re not... really all that surprised.

You have a seat and Frisk finds their way into your lap like clockwork.“So what did you find?” you ask.Sans shrugs.

“about what you’d expect,” he says.

Frisk takes your hand, curling into themself nervously.“So what happens now?”

“i dunno.we go up, make contact, hope they don’t shoot first?”

“We could just stay here,” Frisk mutters.

“that’s real funny, coming from you.”

You squeeze Frisk’s hand and hug them gently.“You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to,” you tell them.“You’ll always be welcome here.”

Sans stares at you, surprised.“ain’t _you_ going up there?” he asks, and you can’t help but laugh.

“No,” you say, “Haha, oh _hell_ no.I’m just fine down here, thanks.”

“why not?” asks Sans, and he sounds genuinely surprised.

“You really need to ask?”Once the giggles are out of your system, you wrap your arms loosely around Frisk and think for a moment before continuing.“There’s nothing left for me up there,” you say finally.“I climbed Mt. Ebott for a _reason_ , you know.”

“You’ll visit, won’t you?” asks Frisk, concerned.

You have to think about it.“Well, sure.”If Frisk leaves, you’ll want to see them again.

Sans hums thoughtfully and finally sits down himself, on the floor near the fireplace.“what about you, kid?you seemed pretty adamant before about goin’ home...”

Frisk pulls your arms tighter around them and says nothing.

“You don’t have to decide right away,” you tell them.

“Mm,” Frisk replies.

* * *

“Hey, Frisk?”

Frisk looks up from the book they were reading and you knock a couple of times on the open door.They place it on the bedside table and push themself upright, which you’re pretty sure means they’re okay with you coming in.

“Do you mind if I sit?” you ask, and they make room for you on the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just wanted to ask you something.You don’t have to answer, but...”You take a deep breath, steadying yourself as much as you’re watching Frisk.“Why did you climb Mt. Ebott?”

Frisk’s posture changes almost immediately.They curl up and look away from you.

“I only ask because, well...”You have to push yourself to keep talking.“I know, for a while you really wanted to go back, but you’ve never really talked about what exactly you wanted to go back _to_.And, well, _my_ life wasn’t exactly great before I came here...”

“It wasn’t that I wanted to go back,” Frisk says suddenly.“I just didn’t want to _stay_.The Ruins scared me.They...”Frisk pauses, unmoving.“They still scare me.”

“Why?” is all you can think to say.The Ruins have been your home for so long, you’re not sure you can even imagine living anywhere else.Feeling _safe_ anywhere else.

“I don’t know,” Frisk admits after a second.

“Frisk...”You don’t want to ask this question, but you don’t think it would be fair to them not to.“I understand if you still need to think about it, but... What do you want to do now?Do you still want to leave?”

Frisk thinks for a long time.Part of you hopes they won’t answer.Actually, most of you hopes they won’t answer.You want things to stay like this.You want to keep Frisk with you.

But if they did want to stay, you can’t imagine they would be willing to admit it out loud.At least, you know _you_ wouldn't have, in their shoes.

Frisk takes a deep breath before speaking and you brace yourself.

“I want you to come with me.”

You look sharply back at them, dumbfounded.Words fail you.

Frisk takes in your expression and looks away nervously.“But...” they continue, “I know you don’t want to leave and I... I understand.”They sigh. burying their face in their knees.“I’m sorry.I don’t know what I want to do.”

“Don’t apologize,” you say, but you can’t bring yourself to seriously consider...Go to the surface?Now?When everything is so perfect down here?You can’t understand.

“I just...” Frisk mutters, not looking back up at you.“I miss the sunlight, you know?And the rain, and the grass and trees.Everything is so _dark_ down here and I hate it.”They look a little farther away from you.“But I can’t go home.”

You want to tell them you’ll do it, but something about the idea just feels so wrong to you.“I... I need to think about it,” you admit finally.

Frisk looks back at you briefly before nodding and looking away again.

* * *

Frisk pulls you by the hand excitedly and you stumble down the mountain after them."Look, look!" they shout, pointing up at a nearby tree."The leaves are turning!Look!"

"They sure are," you reply, laughing a little and trying to steady yourself with your stick.

Undyne catches up to you and Frisk tugs on her pant leg, pointing up at the tree with an excited grin."Undyne, look!"

"What, the leaves?"

"They're turning!They're gonna fall soon!It's gonna be fall!"They bounce up and down as they speak, and you kind of lose yourself in the novelty of it.You don't think you've ever seen them so happy.

You crouch to ruffle their hair, and wince a little when you stand up again.Undyne puts a hand on your shoulder and you suppress the fight-or-flight instinct.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" she asks.

"Oh, I'll live," you reply, flexing your bad leg a few times while Frisk grabs a branch and examines the leaves up close.

"Alright," she says, and raises her voice a bit so Frisk can hear her."You ready to go, Punk?"

"Mhm!"Frisk trots back to your side and takes your hand again, proudly leading the way as the three of you climb down.

Their grip on your hand tightens when they spot the human village.You squeeze their hand back, hoping to reassure them."You okay?"

"Mhm."

They let you lead the rest of the way, and your stomach sinks the moment the humans spot you.Part of you expects them to scream, raise alarms, send out whatever military they might have, but they don't.The first few to spot you just stare silently, while some run toward the center of the village.

You, Undyne, and Frisk walk through the center of the main road, towards where you think you remember the town square being.Silence follows you.Some humans murmur quietly amongst themselves as they follow ten feet behind.You try to come across as dignified, even if your limp makes it difficult.

A man in a suit meets you in the square, making a similar effort to look dignified despite his fear.You step back, and Undyne steps forward.She offers a toothy grin and a hand to shake.The human, after a moment's hesitation, accepts.

* * *

[Frisk]

Undyne and the mayor spend a long time talking about politics and things you don't understand, and you spend most of it half asleep in Chara's lap.They interject now and then, but you don't think they really understand it all either.After what feels like several hours, you're startled from your half-sleep by your name.

"Frisk and Chara here are the only ones left," Undyne is saying."They helped us overthrow Asriel and destroy the barrier."

"And the others?" asks the mayor.

"Dead," replies Chara.They hug you a little tighter and you hug them back, trying to comfort them.

"I see..."The mayor stands up suddenly, and looks directly at you."Frisk, is it?May I speak to you alone for a bit?"

Chara tenses briefly, but moves to let you jump down.You grab their arm and shake your head.You feel Chara's hand in your hair and they speak when you look up at them.

"It's alright," they tell you."We'll be right out here, okay?"

You swallow and reluctantly nod, and climb off of Chara's lap to follow the mayor into another room.

* * *

[Chara]

Frisk is scarcely gone for five minutes before they come barreling back out again.They attach themself to your leg before you have time to react, shaking and sobbing.You push yourself off the chair and crouch, pulling them into a hug.

"What's wrong?" you ask, looking between them and the mayor in the doorway.Frisk doesn't answer."What happened?" you continue, sounding a little more accusatory than you mean to and looking pointedly at the mayor to explain what he did to your kid.

A quiet sob from Frisk brings you back from your anger and you stroke their hair gently."Shh, it's okay.It's okay."

Undyne is on her feet now, and Frisk flinches when she loudly demands answers from the mayor.You silently pick them up and bring them outside.

* * *

You sit on the steps facing the busy street, a little less gracefully than you meant to (Frisk is growing fast.)You run a hand through their hair absently and wait until they're calm enough to speak.

"I'm sorry," they mumble after a few minutes.

"Hey, it's alright," you tell them."What happened?Did he hurt you?"

Frisk shakes their head no, and it takes a few seconds before they can speak again."He said...H-he said I can't stay with you."

"What?"

Frisk sniffles and sobs again and you try to comfort them by rubbing their back."He s-said," they continue after a minute, "He said you and Undyne were just u-using me and I have to go back to my old parents because th-they-"Another sob."Because they still have custody and you can't adopt a kid who isn't an orphan and-"

"Shh, shh.It's okay."Frisk goes back to sobbing quietly and you hold them close."He's wrong, about that," you tell them."Laws be damned, as long as you want to stay, there's not a force in the world that could take you from me."Frisk hugs you even tighter and you reciprocate."It's gonna be alright," you repeat, more to yourself than to Frisk.

When Frisk is done crying, they push themself away from you a little and mumble another apology, wiping their face with their sleeve.

"It's alright," you tell them again."Do you want to go home?" you ask, and they nod."Alright.I have to tell Undyne where we're going.Do you want to come in with me, or wait out here?"

Frisk looks back and forth between you and the street for a bit before answering."I'll come in."

"Alright."

* * *

Undyne is wearing an expression of pure rage when you walk in, staring down the Mayor and speaking in a surprisingly civil tone.

"If you _ever_ put that kid in danger..." she's saying before she sees you come in.

You decide not to spend more time in here than you need to."We're going home," you tell her.

Undyne nods."Good," she says."I'll see you later."

"You're not coming?" asks Frisk, peeking out slightly from behind you.

"Nah," says Undyne."There's still some _diplomacy_ to be done."The threatening tone of her voice as she says that makes you nervous, and you briefly consider staying to help smooth things over.

You shake that thought away.Your first priority is to Frisk.

"See you," you tell Undyne in a way you hope conveys 'please don't start any fistfights.'She waves you off in a way you think means 'no promises.'

* * *

[Frisk]

When you get home, Chara heats up some old pie for you and you sit on their lap while you eat.It's quiet for a while, until Chara runs a hand through your hair and speaks.

"I don't remember much about human law," they tell you, "but if I'm right... there might be a way for us to adopt you without having to worry about it."

"Really?" you say, turning to smile up at them.Chara isn't smiling.

"I can't be sure," they add."But if your parents ever did things like... like hit you or not give you food, and if you can prove it..."

Your heart sinks."Prove it how?" you ask.

"Like, if you have scars, or if you told someone who'd be wiling to back you up."

"I have scars from Asriel," you point out, and Chara tenses a bit.

"...Yeah, maybe we shouldn't go that route.Don't worry, we'll figure something else out."

You put your plate on the floor and climb back up into Chara's lap, hugging them tight and burying your face in their chest."What if we don't?" you ask quietly.

"We _will_ ," repeats Chara.

"But what if we DON'T?I don't wanna go back, I can't..."

Chara hugs you back tight and shushes you."Undyne's the queen now, remember?And she knows how important this is.She won't let them take you.And neither will I."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

Undyne calls a little later and Chara goes in another room to talk to her.It worries you that they don't want you to hear the conversation, so you listen at the door.

"Please tell me you didn't start a fight back there," is the first thing Chara says.After a long silence when Undyne speaks, they sigh loudly and reply, "That's how human law _is_ , Undyne.Kids are basically property to them.Yeah, I know it's bullshit.Did you get anywhere with him?"There's another long silence, and they continue, "Well, no, I'm sure there _was_ abuse.No healthy family ends up with a kid that scared.But we'd have to prove it.No, I don't think that counts as proof.Besides, I don't want to make them talk about it."Another silence."Do you really think that'll work?...I guess not, but- ...Alright.I trust you.Keep me updated, okay?Thanks."

You don't have time to pretend you weren't listening before Chara reopens the door.You jump back and they startle, giving you a concerned stare for a second before sighing and shaking their head.

"So, how much of that did you hear?" they ask.

You look away from them, embarrassed."Most of it," you admit."What's her plan?"

Chara sighs and heads toward the living room, and you follow them."The plan is to get your parents to sign off on it."

You stop walking and Chara turns to look at you.Your gut gets a knot and you swallow it, looking from Chara to the floor and back.You start to speak and stop again before you can ask, "Do... do they have to know?"

Chara takes a second to respond, and kneels to your height with a concerned expression."I think they already know."

Your heart forgets a beat, and you try not to show it.It's stupid, you shouldn't be scared of them anymore, especially not after Asriel.Your eyes water in spite of you, and you take a step away from Chara, avoiding their eyes.

"Hey," Chara starts to say something to comfort you, but you've run before you hear any more.You're out the door before you realize what you're doing, back into the ruins, past the puzzles and the creek and the bake sale, until you find somewhere you can be alone.

* * *

[Chara]

"Frisk?Frisk!!" You yell after them, leaning against the tree outside your house and silently cursing your leg for giving out again before you could catch up.You've lost sight of them already, you have no idea where they went, Undyne's gonna murder someone if she hears about this and it might be you but it'll probably be their parents and that's gonna start a _war_ and the two of you will have to go back into hiding and that's assuming you even _find_ them and oh god what if something happens to them they could die-

"heya."

"Jesus!" You jump and turn to see Sans coming out of your front door.He smiles up at you.

"whats the matter?" he asks nonchalantly."ya look scared to the _bone_."

It takes you a minute to get the pun, and by the time you do the acceptable amount of time before laughing at a joke has passed.You take a deep breath.

"where's the kid?" asks Sans.

"I don't know."

* * *

You stare into your cup of hot cocoa, Sans sipping at his across the table from you.His perma-smile is as wide as ever, and you can't read his expression as well as you've always known his voice.

"they'll be fine," he says, and you know he means it, and he's right."they made it through the underground just fine, didn't even need my help for most of it."

"I still haven't forgiven you for letting them do that," you mutter."You're right, though.They know the Ruins better than I do.I just hope they come back."

"they will."

"You don't know that."

"they always have before, haven't they?"

You take a sip of your chocolate to avoid answering right away.You remember the extent of their injuries the first few times they showed up atyour door, how close they'd come to being killed out there, how little they'd been eating...

You shut your eyes against the swell of panic in your gut.This was your fault.You _know_ how skittish they are, how scared they were of their parents, how much it took for them to accept your help before they trusted you.You regret telling them what was going on, but then, they deserved to know.It's not like you could've lied to them, and you know they'd be even more scared if they thought you were keeping secrets.You remember how they stormed out after you tried to kill them, the whimsun who brought them back to you.

"Not always by choice," you say in answer to Sans' question.

He watches you carefully, swirling his chocolate in the mug with one hand."should we tell undyne?" he asks.

"No," you say, too quickly, and struggle for the words to justify it."It's only been an hour, they might still just be going off to sulk.If they don't come home by tomorrow morning, then we can tell her."

Sans hesitates a little longer before putting his mug down and standing up."you want me to go look for 'em?"

You start to say no, but hesitate."Do you think you could convince them to come back?"

He shrugs."worth a shot?"

You think about it, then stand and find half a leftover pie in the kitchen, which you wrap up and hand to him."If you find them, give them this.I at least want to be sure they'll have food."

He takes it with a practiced grin and, with a little pop, disappears.

* * *

[Frisk]

You curl up in the room where you first fell, staring blankly at the old mattress Chara left here, trying not to think about what happens next.Your parents know you're alive.They'll look for you.It won't be hard for them to find you, especially if you stay with Chara.But where else could you _go_?

Tears well up in your eyes and you give up on pushing them back.It's stupid, this is stupid, you were so excited when Chara said they'd try to go to the surface with you, you forgot to worry about what happens if...

"hey there, kiddo."You jump at the voice - Sans.You refuse to look at him, but you hear him sit down next to you anyway."you ok?"

You aren't sure how to answer that.You ought to be, but you kind of aren't.You pull your legs closer to your chest and look pointedly away from him.

"chara's worried about you," he continues, and your heart sinks with guilt."you plannin' to come back anytime soon?"

"I'm not planning anything," you mutter."I just wanna be alone."

Sans is quiet for a second, and you hear him shift."alright, well they asked me to give ya this, in case you're gone for a while."You turn to see him stand and place what was left of a pie on the ground next to you."you still have the phone i gave you?" he asks, and you nod, staring at the pie."good.i'll, uh, keep you updated on the parents situation."You look back up just in time to see him disappear.

* * *

You could sell the pie, but you don't.You could spend the money you have with you on a spider donut, but you don't.You could eat the pie yourself, but you don't.

You could go home, but you don't.

You stare at the cell phone Sans gave you and think about texting him, or calling Chara, or something, but...

You sigh and roll onto your side facing the wall of the cave.It's been a long time since you slept out here, and you have trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep on the hard ground.It wouldn't be so bad if you'd brought your jacket with you, but you can't go back for it.

You're not even sure why you're doing this.You can't just live out here - you tried that, and it almost killed you.It's not like it'll even be any harder for your parents to find you here than before, but...

You sit up and wipe your eyes, pulling your legs to your chest.You wonder if Chara will be angry that you ran off again.They'd said in the beginning that you could leave whenever you wanted, but that was before they were trying to legally adopt you and you think the social services people wouldn't be okay with them letting you sleep outside whenever you got upset.

You shake your head.Chara wasn't angry that you went on a _suicide mission_ to save them from Asriel.They weren't even _annoyed_ when you set their carpet on fire.There was that one time they attacked you but that... that wasn't anger.You're don't think you've ever seen them angry.They didn't even seem angry at Asriel.

That doesn't mean it can never happen, though.

You look back at the pie sitting on the ground next to you.They wouldn't have asked Sans to bring it to you if they were angry.You miss them.But you don't want to go home, not yet, you...

You can't go home yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- implied/referenced child abuse  
> \- huh i think that's it
> 
> this was originally going to be a short epilogue chapter to just wrap things up and end this whole thing, but then, uh, this happened? so yeah. tune in next week for the final chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last one! i feel like i should have some sappy sentiments here, but i'm honestly still just baffled that i actually _finished_ this thing. regardless, i hope y'all have enjoyed ^^ thanks for sticking around

[Chara]

"Are you sure you want to do this without telling the kid first?"

You pull your coat on and shrug at Undyne, who glares suspiciously at you from the doorway."They know this is the plan," you tell her."I don't want to scare them."

"Didn't you say they wanted their parents out of the loop?"

"Bit late for that."You join her at the doorway and she reluctantly follows you out.

You notice her glancing nervously back at the house on the way into Snowdin."You sure they're okay back there?"

You _aren't_ sure, but you can't say that."They've done this before," you tell her instead, "and they've always been fine."

"For days at a time?"

"Weeks, sometimes."

"You can't just let them hide from this," she exclaims."It's not like we're gonna let those assholes hurt 'em again."

"We don't have all the power here," you mutter, pulling your hood up as it starts to snow."Frisk isn't dumb, they know we can't always protect them."

Undyne grumbles something angry you can't quite make out, and starts walking faster.

* * *

You knock three times and silently hope that no one will answer.Someone does, unfortunately, and scowls at you from behind a crack they open in the door.

"Hello," you say, clutching your walking stick with both hands to keep yourself from fidgeting."Are you-"

"Get the hell off my property," says the human behind the door, before slamming it shut and locking it.You stand and blink for a second in surprise, and Undyne steps past you and bangs loudly on the door.

"Hey LISTEN UP!"She yells, and you have to take a step back and cover an ear."WE'RE FROM EBOTT AND THIS IS ABOUT FRISK!"

She waits for an answer, and you find yourself hoping again that there won't be one.After a few seconds, the door cracks open again and the human steps out and shuts it quietly behind them.They look 30 or 40, with pointed elbows and awful posture, and their scowl remains evident through their mess of hair.

"You're the ones who took my kid?" they ask.

Undyne opens her mouth to say something and you put a hand on her shoulder to stop her."Frisk came to us," you say evenly."We have a favor to ask-"

"No.Whatever it is, no.Y'ain't gettin' _any_ favors from me after kidnapping-"

" _Kidnapping_?!" Undyne steps forward and you pull her back.She reluctantly holds off from stabbing them."The kid ends up at the top of _Mount Fucking Ebott_ under _your_ care, but _we're_ the kidnappers, huh?"

"Undyne," you pull her back a step farther and try to remind her that this is meant to be _diplomatic_ , but the human speaks up again.

"My kid was a god damn genius 'fore the god damn curse hit," they spit."Then suddenly it's _legends_ this _adventure_ that and I got a god damn idiot on my hands."The human waves their arms animatedly and you're glad to be more than two feet away from them."Thought the mountain would clear things up, 'stead I hear back a year later 'bout the god damn monsters come back and now you wanna keep them!" they yell, except they don't say 'them.'

You grit your teeth and try to keep your tone civil."You abandoned them," you say.

"Pah, kid was always runnin' off, causin' trouble - y'all know that by now I'm sure."They look you in the eye when they say this, and you aren't sure what they're implying.

Undyne speaks, "Are you saying you took them to Mt Ebott and just left them there?!"

"Put me on the stand an' I'll deny it," the human replies.

You interject, "I would think if that was the case, you wouldn't mind them staying with us."

"Well that's where you'd be wrong ya fuckin' lunatic!"

* * *

[Frisk]

*so undyne and chara went to talk to your parents...  
*it uh, didn't go well.

You stare at the text for a good ten minutes before gathering the words to respond.

*I could have told you it wouldn't.

*yeah i didn't say it was a surprise.  
*they're workin out a plan b rn.  
*you holdin up ok?

You glance at the pie Chara sent you, which you've reluctantly started to nibble on, and sigh quietly before texting back.

*Yeah, I'm okay.  
*I'm sorry.

*hey no worries.  
*but you uh, thinkin about comin back soon?

You don't answer, instead putting your phone away and standing up.You need to walk for a minute to clear your head.You haven't gotten more than 20 feet before Sans texts you again, though.

*well, either way.  
*i do have some good news.

*Really?

*yeah  
*sounds like your, uh, parent  
*admitted to abandoning you  
*on ebott  
*and chara was recording the conversation so  
*still need to find out if that's admissible in court or whatever  
*but it's more than we had before.

*...  
*That was my mom.  
*She's a lawyer.

*ah.  
*well we have lawyers too if it comes to that.

*That's a bad idea.  
*Monster law is super different form human law.  
*We're not gonna win anything in court.

*hey, take a breath kiddo  
*we'll figure this out one way or another ok?  
*...ok?  
*you still there?  
*frisk?

* * *

[Chara]

"This is a bad idea."

Undyne glares at you from across the table and says, "It's the best idea we have, Chara."

You shake your head."Frisk is legally a minor, which means they have almost no rights.You're legally a non-person, which means you _don't_ have rights, and _I'm_ legally _dead_."

Undyne waits for you to continue for a second before prompting, "Which means...?"

"I don't know what that means!"You rest your head in your hands and try to remember to breathe."Look, if we get the human legal system involved, _best case scenario_ is they get dumped into foster care."

"Why'd you bother recording the conversation if you didn't want this to go to court?"

"I don't know!It's... it's _something_ , right?There must be another way to use it."

"hey here's an idea," Sans interjects from the kitchen doorway."how about we just stay underground and tell 'em _no adult humans allowed_?"

"Except me?"

"eh, you don't count."

You glare at him for a second, but shake your head and move on."It's too late for that, anyway," you grumble, glaring at the wooden patterns in the table."Did you get in touch with Frisk?"

"yeah," he says, and fails to elaborate.

"...Are they alright?"

"i think so."He makes his way into the kitchen and settles into one of the chairs."they said their mom's a lawyer, so uh... i think i'm with ya on needing a better plan."

Undyne groans loudly and slams her head into the table, shaking it violently."Okay, you know what?" she says, then sits up and yells, "Fuck this!I'm the god damn queen, if I say Frisk can stay, they can fucking stay!"She stands up and storms out of the room, yelling, "Send me the recording you took," on the way.

* * *

[Frisk]

*ok so here's what just happened.  
*undyne went to the humans and said 'frisk has asylum here actually and i'm willing to fight you for em.'  
*and the humans were like 'you're not a sovereign nation tho'  
*and undyne was like 'yes we are????'  
*so basically they're not arguing about you anymore

*...Did I just start a war?

*worse.  
*you started bureaucracy.  
*...i'm kidding about it being worse, dont worry.  
*tho tbf i think undyne would rather be fighting a war right now.  
*we just had to talk her down from challenging the mayor to an official duel.  
*which chara says is illegal now?

*Are  
*Are duels legal underground??

*yeah they happen all the time.  
*jeez what kinda childhood did you have?

*The kind where you don't get stabbed?????

* * *

[Chara]

There's a knock at the door and you quickly set the timer and head over to open it.You look down to see Frisk, staring at the ground and shifting uncomfortably."Oh thank the stars," you hear yourself say, and kneel to look them over for injuries."Are you alright?Are you hurt?"

"M'fine," Frisk mumbles, not looking at you."I'm sorry."

You pull them into a hug."It's okay," you tell them."It's okay."

* * *

A meal and a bath later you have Frisk and Undyne at the same table, catching Frisk up on the situation and convincing Undyne they're not dying.

"Please don't do this again," says Undyne quietly after a lull in the conversation. 

Frisk nods and apologizes again."Are we in trouble over it?"

"We're the only ones who even know," you reassure them, "besides Sans and I guess anyone who saw you."

Frisk stares at their hands, expression guarded and blank.You reach out to take their hand in yours, but they flinch away from your touch."I'm sorry," they repeat quietly.

"It's okay, Frisk," you tell them.

Frisk doesn't react, fidgeting nervously with their hands."I..." they start, and their face shifts, slightly."I haven't... really... been honest with you."

"About what?" asks Undyne, unperturbed.

"About my parents," Frisk answers."They're not... I mean, it wasn't..."They lower their head a little farther and finish in a single breath."It wasn't as bad as I've been making it out to be," they tell you, and still avoiding your eyes, look pointedly up at Undyne."I can't ask you to risk... anything... over this," they continue, and look down again."If, if I need to go back, I'll be okay."Their face remains blank, but their voice is shaking and you're sure they're holding back tears.

"Yeah, I'm calling bullshit," says Undyne, and Frisk flinches, grabbing their arm with one hand and going still."You expect me to believe your panic attack in the village was an _act_?" she continues."I know crocodile tears when I see 'em, punk, and those weren't it."

Frisk doesn't look up, they don't move, and they don't say anything more.

You consider your words carefully before speaking."Frisk, 'not as bad as we thought' doesn't mean it wasn't bad.If you don't _want_ to go back, that's all we need to know."

Frisk mumbles, quietly enough you almost don't hear them, "It's selfish."

"You are the least selfish person I have ever met," says Undyne flatly."And I, personally, owe you.You honestly expect me to just let this happen?"She rolls her eyes and continues in a sarcastic tone, "Oh yeah, thanks for saving our kingdom, you're on your own now though, good luck!"

"Quit it," mumbles Frisk, glaring back up at her."You keep saying that, that I don't have to go back and it's gonna be okay, but I know you're just saying it!"Their mask is gone now, but you can't read their expression."I won't start a war over this.I _won't let you get hurt for me!_ "They pause and retreat again, rubbing their sleeve over their eyes."I won't let everyone get hurt 'cause of me," they repeat quietly.

"Frisk..." you start, but you aren't sure what to say.

Undyne continues for you."Alright, how bad was it, then?"

"What?" you ask, and Frisk looks up in surprise.

She continues, "If you want us to know, then tell us.I'm not letting you go back unless I know _exactly_ what you'd be going back to, and even then I'm not making any promises."

Frisk looks at their hands and back up again."I mean, it..." they start to continue, stop, start again... "It's not like they ever, um, hit me, or anything like that."Their eyes move quickly around the table as they think."It was... it was _fine._ It was normal."

"You're lying," says Undyne.

"I'm not!"Frisk sounds like they're on the verge of tears again, and you cut in.

"You remember when you were learning fire magic for the first time," you say, "and the carpet got a little charred and you were upset that I wasn't mad at you?"

Frisk nods.

"You said I was doing this 'parent' thing all wrong," you continue, "'cause parents aren't supposed to be... nice, I guess?"

Frisk hesitates, but nods again.

"So then," you continue, "tell us what 'normal' is.What did a day in the life of Frisk look like when you lived on the surface?"

You and Undyne make eye contact, briefly, and she turns back to Frisk and waits for them to speak.

Frisk dithers for a long time before they finally do."Um," they start, "I guess... I usually woke up around six or seven and um, got breakfast and went to school..."

"Did you make your own breakfast?" you ask.

"Yeah," says Frisk."I mean, just like cereal and stuff."They think a second longer."School is, I mean, it's school, it's not like my parents had anything to do with that."

"Fair, but still," says Undyne, "was school... safe?"

"Sure," says Frisk, shrugging."My teachers were nice.I didn't really have a lot of friends, but it's not like... I wasn't bullied or anything."

"And when you got home?" she prompts.

"Oh, well," Frisk thinks a second longer."I usually went to the library for a while before going home, or like, the park or something."

"Alone?" you ask.

"Yeah?"Frisk pauses, but continues after a bit."Um... and then I'd go home and do my homework and go to bed," they finish.

"Your parents weren't even in that story," says Undyne.

"Yeah, I mean, they weren't home much.Mom's a lawyer and Dad's a manager so they're always busy.They didn't really mind if I went wherever as long as I was home before curfew."

You interject, "What happened if you missed curfew?"

"O-oh, um..." Frisk stares at their hands like they think the words they need are written on them."I mean, it, um, depended.Sometimes I could just sneak in and they wouldn't really notice."

You wait for them to continue, but they don't, so you prompt, "And other times...?"

Frisk shrugs."It... I guess it depended on who was home, and, um, whether they'd been drinking..."They swallow."I mean they wouldn't even punish me usually, Mom would just yell at me and Dad would like, I mean he would just... ignore me... but he kind of did that anyway."

"But they punished you sometimes?" you ask."What did that look like?"

Frisk shrinks a little."N-nothing really bad, they'd just take my phone for a while or ground me or... y-you know, normal stuff."

"Frisk," you say, "I hope you understand by now that I have absolutely no frame of reference for what a 'normal' childhood looks like."

Frisk sighs."Look, it... it wasn't bad.They weren't bad parents.They were just, they did whatever would help me become like, smart and strong and stuff.I mean you're, you're not supposed to be _friends_ with your parents."

You take a breath and look to your hands and back up again."Did you always have enough to eat?" you ask.

Frisk hesitates."Usually."

"That's not always."

"Look it's not... they didn't like, it wasn't a punishment or anything, they were just really busy so they didn't always have time to go to the store so we didn't always have food around the house, that's all."

There's silence for a couple minutes while everyone thinks.Undyne is the first to speak."So, in an average week," she says, "how much did you _see_ your parents?"

"Every night?" Frisk answers before reconsidering, "Well, most nights."

"For how long?"

"I dunno, like, an hour or two?"

"What were those interactions _like_?"

Frisk groans a little, irritated."I _dunno_.Awkward, I guess.Usually they just checked to make sure I was keeping up with school and stuff, we didn't talk about much else."

You interrupt before Undyne can ask anything else."Do you want to stop talking about this now?"

Frisk sighs and nods."My point is, I... I'll be _okay_.You don't have to go to all this trouble to let me stay here."

"I want you to stay," you tell them, and Frisk looks at you for the first time since they sat down.

They look down and back up again, start to speak but change their mind, and stand up and walk over to you before climbing into your lap.

* * *

[Frisk]

"Asriel?"

Asriel looks up at you, startled, before he settles back into the guarded expression he wore when you visited him with Chara."What do you want?" he asks.

You glance nervously back at the door before stepping a little closer to his cell."I..."You brace yourself, looking away from him."I need your help."

Asriel is silent for a moment, but when you look up at him he's laughing."That's a good one," he says bitterly."And why should I help _you_?"

"The humans aren't letting us be..." you take a breath."Nobody's telling me anything," you admit, "but there's something _wrong_ and I don't know if Undyne can fix it alone and..."

"I didn't ask what you wanted my help _with,_ human."

You stop yourself from flinching at his tone and start to reply but he interrupts you.

"What do you even expect me to do?" he asks, leaning casually back against the wall of his cell."In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little tied up at the moment."

"I don't know," you admit quietly, "but... but you're the reason nobody up there trusts us, because they know what you did.You- YOU started this, so you have to fix it!"

He smiles at you, and you're not sure what to make of it."This started a long time before you or me," he says simply."Humans and monsters have never and _will_ never coexist peacefully.You'll learn that soon enough."

You struggle for something to say in response.This was a mistake, you shouldn't have come alone.You take a breath and speak."You're wrong."

Asriel laughs.

"But..."You look to the door and back again, thinking."But I don't think you really believe that, anyway.I mean you... you've _seen_ it, right?When you and Chara were kids."

Asriel glares at you, not laughing anymore."Don't _you_ start in on that," he says."...It was never going to last," he continues, "I knew that even then.At least I should've."He stares away from you and you watch his expression carefully.

You sit down in front of his cell and give yourself a second to think."The thing is, Asriel, I..." you breathe."I think I understand."

"You don't."

"Just hear me out."You fidget nervously with your hands in your lap."I know what it's like to... to be _wrong_ about someone; to care about someone who, who ended up hurting you."

You look up to see his expression, and he's watching you, waiting for you to finish.

"It's... it's easier, right?" you ask."To, to believe they always just hated you, even if maybe they didn't."You look back at your hands."Cause... cause you want to be angry and you want to think they deserve it."You can't help but laugh a little, yourself."My parents aren't bad people," you say, more to yourself than to him."But it's easier to think they are, because I can't _reconcile_ that with..." you cut yourself off, rub your eyes on your sleeve, and take a breath before looking up at him."You're right that, that I don't understand everything," you tell him, "but I understand _that_.And... and I know it's something Chara _doesn't_ get, because I don't think they really know how to be angry anymore."You look at your feet and back up again."But I know they care about you, Asriel."

You wait for him to speak, and he doesn't for a long time.You go back to fidgeting with your hands, hoping what you said got through to him at least a little.

"What do you want from me?" he says finally.

You take a second to think before you answer, "I want you to help us.I want you to make it better."

He sighs, but grins when he answers, "Yeah, good luck with that."

"You were in charge for a long time, right?" you ask, "So, so you have to know how to handle politics and deal with people who don't like you and..." you look back down, gripping your pant legs in your fingers."You have to know how to fix this," you say.

"If I knew how to fix this," he replies, "I wouldn't have wasted so much time getting those souls before even _trying_ to go to the surface."He sighs and continues, "Unless you still have those somewhere, we'll be lucky if _anyone_ makes it outa this alive.Well, any _monster_."

"Then you HAVE to help us!" you say."They'll kill you too, you _know_ that!"

"Frisk," he interrupts, and you're taken aback for a second that he used your name."Don't you have anything better to do?"

* * *

[Chara]

"Okay," Undyne paces back and forth across the room from you and some of her other 'advisors' (a room you really don't think you belong in, but who are you to turn her down?) "so this is the 'deal' they offered," she continues."We legally become part of their country, but with the land around Mt. Ebott legally in _my_ name so we could just, keep on like we were before?Chara, does this sound like a trap to you?"

You fidget a little in your seat."I'm no lawyer," you tell her."But I think it depends on the specifics?Does this make all of us citizens?"

Undyne produces a stack of papers the size of your head and drops it dramatically on the table."Hell if I know," she tells you.

Just then, the door behind you opens and a tall skeleton in a ridiculous outfit enters bearing a stack of papers around the same size."HELLO, EVERYONE!" he announces, "I GREATLY APOLOGIZE FOR MY TARDINESS, BUT IT TOOK LONGER THAN I ANTICIPATED TO READ THIS DOCUMENT!"

"Oh, jeez," Undyne starts, "Paps, I didn't expect you to read all of it in one night."

"NEVERTHELESS!" Papyrus continues proudly, "TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MX. CHARA, YES.THIS DEAL WOULD GRANT CITIZENSHIP TO EVERYONE IN THE MONSTER KINGDOM.HOWEVER," he plops his copy of the document on the table and begins rifling through it, "THERE ARE A FEW CLAUSES IN THIS AGREEMENT I BELIEVE ARE UNACCEPTABLE!FOR INSTANCE, AS CITIZENS ALL OF US WOULD BE SUBJECT TO HUMAN LAW, BUT THERE IS A CLAUSE SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITING MONSTERS FROM RECEIVING GOVERNMENTAL AID!"

There are murmurs in the room and you pipe in, "So, we pay taxes but get nothing in return."

"ESSENTIALLY, YES."

"Okay, so taking it as-is is a nonstarter," Undyne finally sits at the table and Papyrus takes his seat at her right hand, "but what about the bones of it?If we change some stuff, does it turn into something reasonable?"

The room Undyne addressed quibbles silently over whose responsibility it is to answer her.Eventually, someone you can't see from your chair speaks."We've been independent for a long time," they say."I see no reason to give up our sovereignty to this human nation."

There are quiet murmurs of agreement."What other options are there?" asks someone else."I mean, if this is the only deal they'll accept without going to war..."

"We can't really know how willing they are to start a fight," says another."As long as it benefits them, any threat of war could be a bluff."

"What do you think, Sans?" Asks Undyne, and Sans perks up from his nap.

"'bout what?" he asks.

"You were in the human city for a while," she continues."How ready are they for war?"

Sans hesitates a while before he answers."all i can say for sure," he decides, "is nobody agrees on it."

There's an uncomfortable silence following Sans' statement, and you drum your fingers on the table nervously."Humans," you say cautiously, "are never going to write deals based on what they think is fair.They're gonna pressure us to take the first one we get offered, no matter what it really looks like."You think for another second, glancing around the table."But we aren't the only ones who'd benefit from resolving this quickly.I think we should reject this first offer out of hand, and see if we can pressure them into coming up with something better."You glance at your hands."If we convince them we'll settle for nothing less than _complete sovereignty_ , we'll have a bluff of our own."

"We can't threaten war, though," someone says.

"Not _credibly_ ," you reply, "but given the cost of _any_ war, I think total sovereignty looks pretty reasonable by comparison.They can guess, but they don't really know what we're capable of, and they don't know we lost the six human souls."You tap the table a couple of times and raise your hand to gesticulate with it."Besides, we're landlocked and they have us surrounded on all sides.Sovereignty isn't gonna stop them from having an upper hand on pretty much every diplomatic situation."

That sparks some nervous chatter, and it takes a minute for Undyne to even try to get everyone to quiet down.

Before she speaks, though, someone else does."You're playing with fire, human," they say, and you almost flinch at the word."Why should we believe you're not just trying to lead us to ruin?You certainly have the motive."

Distantly, you hear murmurs of "yeah," and "what side are they on, really?"You swallow and speak up. 

"I'm here to protect Frisk," you say flatly."And they're not safe among humans."You take a breath as the murmurs quiet down."That said," you continue, "It's only a suggestion.The final call is yours, Queen Undyne."

* * *

"Asriel asked to see you."Undyne says it quietly,staring at the mug of hot chocolate in her hands.Frisk stirs in your lap, peering at her over the table.

"Did he say why?" you ask, just slightly tightening a protective grip on Frisk's shoulder.

"No," Undyne replies."Look, I'm not gonna ask you to go or anything.Just thought you'd wanna know."

"Thanks."You look down again at the legal papers strewn across your dining table, but you can't seem to refocus on them.You haven't seen Asriel since the day Alphys first gave you the go-ahead to walk again, and at the time you thought it was goodbye forever.

Since then, though...

You guess it can't really feel like forever when the option is still there.You can't help but be curious what he wants.Maybe he had a change of heart, you think, before dismissing the thought out of hand.Yeah, _that'll_ be the day.Frisk gets your attention by hugging you, and you squeeze them back gently.

"Are you gonna go?" they ask.

"I don't know," you tell them honestly, and the acknowledging sound they make is somewhere in the space between disappointed and relieved.

Either way, this isn't something you'll drag Frisk into all over again.

* * *

[Frisk]

You're trying to get to sleep when you hear footsteps descending to the basement.At first you think Chara's just going out to talk to Sans, but then you remember he comes here more often than not and they don't have to talk through the door anymore.You quietly push your covers off of yourself and click your door open, stopping briefly to grab your shoes before following them.

It's hard to stay out of sight without losing them, but they're limping a little more than usual tonight, and you can hear their stick against the ground once you reach Waterfall, and they aren't looking behind them very much.There aren't a ton of people out, but you get a couple of looks from monsters who notice how careful you're being to keep quiet.

When Chara gets to the prison and goes inside, you hesitate for a while before following.The guards out front don't mind your presence, and you sit at the corner before Asriel's cell.

"Well?"Chara's voice. 

"Well what?"Asriel.

There's a pause before Chara replies, "Undyne said you wanted to see me."

"Did she now."

You hear Chara's stick tap impatiently against the floor before they sigh and speak again."Alright, nevermind then, I suppose."Footsteps begin to approach the corner and you get ready to move.

"Wait."

"What."

There's an uncomfortable silence, but after a minute you hear someone move."Frisk visited the other day," says Asriel.

"They _what?!_ "

Whoops.You press yourself a little closer to the wall, more nervous than you thought you'd be.Asriel laughs."You didn't tell them to come, then?" he says.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"They said some stuff about you."

"...Huh?" Chara says it quietly, nervously.

Asriel hesitates for a second before elaborating."I mean," he says, "mostly they said a lot of stuff about how badly your negotiations with the humans are going, and how they wanted me to help you fix it.But they also said some interesting stuff about 'understanding how I felt about you.'It was kind of pathetic."

You hear Chara sit down, but they don't say anything.

"Like, aren't I supposed to be the one giving the 'we're not so different' speech?" Asriel continues.After a second of relative silence, he sighs."Chara," he says, "what happened the day Mom died?"

You hold your breath as you wait for them to speak.Then you stop holding your breath, because you can't hold it long enough.You hug yourself by your arms and wait.

Eventually, Chara speaks."So _now_ you trust me?" they ask.

"I didn't say that," Asriel replies."But what reason do you have to lie anymore?"

"What reason did I have to lie in the first place?"

There's a beat of silence."To get me on your side?" Asriel ventures."Convince me to stop?"

"Please," Chara says, bitterly and sarcastically."As though I ever expected you to change."

An uncomfortable silence follows their words.Asriel waits for Chara to speak.Chara waits for Asriel to speak.Neither of them do.

Finally, Chara continues."All I remember," they tell him, "is this."

* * *

[Chara]

"Asgore showed up right when she was supposed to get home," you start, and Asriel's eyes perk up in interest."I didn't see her until after... well, you were there for that part.It was probably half an hour after you left - she showed up and let me out, told me to run."

You hesitate, and Asriel takes the opportunity to ask, "And you did?"

You take a breath and nod."I thought she would be right behind me.I was halfway through the Ruins before I realized..."

"Why didn't you go back?"

You look up at Asriel, who's staring at you openly, unguarded (as much as he ever is.)You start to answer, but your throat clamps up around the words.It's a question you've been asking yourself for a long time.You look down and shake your head."She was already hurt when I saw her," you say weakly."And I..."

"Was just a _kid,_ and I was _scared,"_ Asriel says in a mocking tone of voice, and you can't help but flinch."You think that excuses you?" he asks.

You shake your head no."Of course not," you tell him quietly."It's a reason, not an excuse."

"I don't want your reasoning," says Asriel."I don't wanna know _why_ you let her die.It doesn't matter."

You don't move to speak after that, and neither does he for a while.Eventually, even though maybe you shouldn't, you add, "I didn't think they would kill her."

You think Asriel looks up, but you don't move to look at him.He doesn't stop you, so you continue.

"Maybe that was naive, or just _stupid_ , but I mean..." you sigh."She was the _queen_."

"That didn't make her exempt," says Asriel.

"I know that _now_ ," you tell him."Back then, I... I never understood how much danger she was in.She risked so much for me and I never knew it until it was too late."Your voice drops into a whisper as you speak, and Asriel lets the silence be for a while.

Eventually, he sighs and says, "Do you know who did it?"

"I don't," you say truthfully.

"I think it was Dad."

You look up at him sharply, words failing you.

"I heard them arguing the night before," says Asriel."He was the one who went ahead.He told everyone _you_ killed her, and I..."He sighs, avoids looking at you, fidgets with his claws."I guess I believed him."

He waits for you to speak, and all you can think to say is, "You never said that."

Asriel shrugs."I thought you might confess."

"I don't think you did."

"..."

You take a breath and say quietly, "Thank you.For... for telling me."

"Yeah," Asriel whispers."Sure."

* * *

"What did you say to him?"

"Who?"

"Asriel," Undyne specifies, seeming somewhat perturbed."Apparently he said he wants to help with this whole negotiation business?The morning after _you_ supposedly visited him?"

You stare up at Undyne over Frisk's head and wait for them to settle themself into your lap before you reply."Nothing important," you tell her."He just wanted to clear some things up.You gonna take him up on it?"

Undyne sits across from you and sighs."I'll hear what he's got to say," she answers.

"Can I come?" asks Frisk.

"I dunno why the hell you'd want to but sure, I guess."Undyne finishes her tea and stands up."No word about your parents, by the way," she adds."I don't think they care enough to start any fights over it, though."

Frisk gives an acknowledging hum and pushes themself a little closer to you."Have you given them an answer yet?" you ask."About their plan?"

Undyne shakes her head no."I don't like it," she says, "but I don't know.Maybe we can beat it into something doable."She stretches and grabs her coat from her chair."I'll get Papyrus to write up a counter-offer," she says.

"He's the skeleton for the job, I guess," you reply.

Frisk jumps off of your lap and hops to Undyne's side.She smiles down at them and says, "If nothing else, we gotta add a clause to make sure this little squirt gets to stay."

* * *

[Frisk]

"Trust me, they don't actually care about any of this."

You fidget nervously next to Undyne, as she stares into the cell where Asriel is sifting through a stack of papers half your height.

He continues, "They just don't want to admit their borders changed.Just write something up that makes us a colony with rights and you're golden."

"And we should trust you because...?" Undyne asks incredulously.

"Trust me or don't," says Asriel nonchalantly, "but I'm just as dead as the rest of you if this goes south."He starts filing the papers back through the bars of his cell, and you take them and start arranging them back into their original order.

"Did Chara really change your mind?" Asks Undyne.

"Nah," says Asriel."I'm just really fucking bored."He smiles at you, and it's not the mean smile like before, more like a shared secret, and you grin back at him nervously.

* * *

[Chara]

Time passes.

Negotiations take months.Years, maybe, but they happen.Monsters build on the surface and Frisk legally becomes your kid.You get a phone call from their parents and tell them Undyne's putting Frisk's right to stay into any treaty she'll sign, and they back off.

You start a garden, and learn to make shepherd's pie and apple pie and find an old recipe in the house in New Home for butterscotch pie.Frisk starts going to school under Mt. Ebott with the monster kids, because they didn't want to go back to human school and you don't trust yourself to homeschool them.

Frisk asks if they can call you their "ren," because that's what the other kids call their parents who aren't moms or dads, and you have to cry for a minute before you can tell them of course they can.

You start wearing your locket again, but you don't see Asriel for years afterward.He writes letters occasionally, and you write back, and it doesn't hurt to think about him anymore but that doesn't make you friends.

At Frisk's suggestion, you start a bakery.It feels wrong to sell food made with Toriel's recipes, but once you come up with some of your own it feels less like a scam and more like an inheritance.You send a slice of butterscotch to Asriel.

Monsters become friends, and the surface becomes home, and in a sense, you think, the mountain begins to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- implied/referenced child abuse, neglect, and abandonment  
> \- some ableist language toward the beginning


End file.
